Kingdom Of Dreams Pt 1B
by Vampiresanddemons
Summary: The conclusion to the first book. New powers are discovered, and with them come new dangers. As Prince Will and the chosen continue their struggle to awaken the four Tears of Miath sleeping inside each of them Miyo and Prince Blake encounter their own troubles within the kingdom walls.
1. Chapter 9

**Chapter 9:**

Tisha and the others walked slowly up the stairs, no one saying a word. When they got to the main floor Waz was waiting for them, and greeted them with a smile.

"Come," he said, "I will take you to see Prince Will."

He led them back to the throne room and entered. The scene was much like the one the previous night with the Prince in his throne, Imazo and Inazo by his side, and Silver standing in one corner.

"From the looks on your faces I assume you learned the story of our land. I know it must be hard for you all to understand." the Prince said rising from his chair. "Now," he continued, "being that The Seer is through talking to the four of you, you are all free to do whatever you like. Explore all you like, but none of you are to leave the castle grounds. Our gate keeper Braken will see that none of you wander away."

With that the Prince dismissed them and they walked out the same way they came in, only with the absence of Waz.

Once outside the door Chase asked, "So what now?"

There was silence for several minutes before Tisha answered, "I think we should take the Prince up on his offer and take a look around the castle."

They walked together to the main hall, and then went their separate ways. Tisha headed upstairs with Jase, and left him on the second floor as she continued to the third floor. Chase and Tharin decided to go together outside and look around the grounds.

Tisha wanted to learn more about the so called "power" inside of her and her friends. She was hoping to find someone or something that could tell her more. She went through nine different rooms before she found one with some books, but not one of the books she found referenced anything about the two dragons or the spirits.

Jase had no real reason for going off on his own. He wanted to get away from the others last night, and with the information he just heard he needed it now more than ever. He didn't feel any different from when he was back home aside from his constant fear that something was going to happen to Miyo. Jase walked into a few rooms and looked around before he decided to go back down to the main floor, and join back up with Chase and Tharin. At the time Chase and Tharin were walking towards the castle gate.

"Are you sure this is a good idea?" Tharin asked a little nervously.

Chase's expression hardened as he replied, "Not really, but I want to make certain we can't go and help Miyo."

"Wait a minute," Tharin said stopping Chase, "Didn't that Seer guy say not to do anything that might…"

"Yeah I know, but I can't just sit around and do nothing." Chase interrupted.

Tharin sighed as Chase pushed past him and waited at the gate for it to open.

"Where do you think you're off to?" asked a voice calmly.

"I want to go outside, please." Chase called out.

A young male climbed down the wooden ladder and folded his arms as he stood in front of Chase with a smile.

"I don't think so, the Prince ordered me to keep our guests inside the castle grounds." he stated.

Chase and the man stared at each other for a few seconds before Chase smiled back at him.

"I'm sorry, I had to give it a shot." he stated as he extended a hand and continued, "You must be Braken, I'm Chase."

The man shook Chase's hand and replied, "Yes, I am Braken. It's nice to meet you."

Tharin introduced himself in the same manner and Braken stated, "Forgive me, believe me if it were my friend I would want to rescue her as well."

Chase nodded and said, "That's alright, I'm sure she'll be fine."

Soon Jase came out to join them and introduced himself as well.

"Did you get bored already?" Tharin asked jokingly.

Jase shook his head and they left it at that, as they could all feel the tension in the air.

"Well, we're sorry to have bothered you Braken, but we really don't know where or what we can do." Chase stated with a frown.

Braken was silent for a few minutes in thought before he answered, "If you can find Caitlin she may be willing to give you a tour of the castle, or at least talk with you."

Chase's eyes grew wide as he remembered, "Of course, I almost forgot Mrs. Leon was here. Thank you Braken."

Braken bowed and started back up the ladder calling over his shoulder, "Kaza, have you seen Caitlin?"

A young man with silver hair and green eyes turned and called back, "Yes, the last time I saw her she was in the Room of Mirrors."

"Thank you Kaza!" Braken called, then down to the boys, "The Room of Mirrors is on the sixth floor. Walk all the way to the end of the hall to your left and it's the last door to your right. If she isn't there came back to me."

"Thanks again Braken." Chase called back to him. The three turned and walked back into the castle.

"Hey Chase?" Tharin started, "Why do you want to find your teacher so much?"

Chase shot him a look as they started up the stairs and replied, "I overheard the Prince and Silver last night say that Caitlin was at Blake's castle, and was wondering if she saw Miyo."

Jase and Tharin's breath caught in their throats as all three quickened their pace. It took a little longer to get to the sixth floor then they estimated, and had to stop on the fifth floor to catch their breath. They were down the hall equally as fast, and paused again to regain their composure outside the Room of Mirrors. All hoped beyond hope that Caitlin was still in the room as Chase opened the door.

Tisha walked through the entire third and fourth floor, and finally had to sit down on the staircase to rest. She was no closer to finding answers to her questions than when she started. Tisha had paged through a total of thirteen books and had found nothing. She wanted to ask someone if the castle had a library, but everyone she tried talking to turned her away with apologies of being too busy to talk to her. Tisha thought for a few minutes and sighed with the only option that presented itself to her. She racked her brain for two more minutes, and when she still could not come up with a solution she got up and walked down to the main floor, and continued down to The Seer's room.

Taking a deep breath she whispered to herself, "I must be out of my mind." and knocked gently on the door.

The instant she stopped knocking The Seer's voice said, "Come."

Her heart almost burst form her chest at the rapid answer as a bead of sweat ran down her face. Tisha opened the door and walked into the room letting the door close behind her. The Seer was standing by one of his book shelves and was facing Tisha with his eyes open.

"What can I do for you, my dear?" he asked coldly.

"Um, I'm sorry to bother you again, but I was wondering if you could tell me more about how to awaken our powers." Tisha asked timidly.

The Seer blinked his eyes slowly before answering her, "Of course, please have a seat."

Tisha nodded and sat in the same chair she had not an hour ago as The Seer walked to a different book shelf and took out a worn gray book. He sat opposite of Tisha once again and opened the book.

"Now, shall we begin?" The Seer questioned with a smile.

His fierce eyes burned holes into Tisha's green pools. She nodded and took a breath, cursing herself inside for her curiosity.

"The easiest way," he began, "to awaken your powers is to use them."

Tisha looked confused at The Seer and stated, "But I don't even know how to use my powers."

The Seer smiled, closed his eyes and asked, "Have you even tried to use your power yet?"

Tisha was silent for a few seconds before answering, "Um, no…I haven't."

The Seer opened his eyes and stated, "Put your hand out and focus." Tisha put her hand out and did as The Seer told her. "Put it palm up, the power can flow more easily that way." he instructed with his eyes gleaming.

Tisha nodded and twisted her wrist so that her palm was facing up. She stared at her hand for a minute then closed her eyes and focused her mind even harder, resulting in a short spurt of pain in her head.

After a minute more Tisha stopped and said, "I don't think this is working." and dropped her hand in frustration.

The Seer put his hand out like Tisha's and stated, "Give me your hand." Tisha hesitated for a second before placing her hand in The Seer's. "Now concentrate as you were, but look into my eyes this time." he said. Tisha obeyed and began concentrating again, she was a little concerned staring into the deep crimson eyes of The Seer, but she calmed down after a few seconds. Soon Tisha's hand began warming and she started looking down, but The Seer said in his cold tone, "Don't look away from my eyes, not yet." Tisha nodded and kept her eyes glued to The Seer's. Her hand was growing warmer, and finally The Seer let go of Tisha's hand and said, "Okay, you can look now, but stay focused." Tisha looked at her hand and gasped, floating a few inches above her palm was a bright green sphere of energy.

"So is my power awake now?" Tisha questioned in amazement.

"No," he replied, "just because you can use your power does not mean it has awakened, although you are one step closer to it now."

The two men closed around Miyo; the red haired one put his arm around her shoulder, and the silver haired one pressed his hand against the gate a few inches away from her head.

"Listen, I don't want any trouble." she stammered, her face growing red.

The red haired man smiled and asked, "Trouble? We didn't say anything about causing you trouble, did we Shiva?"

The other, Shiva, shook his head and stated innocently, "No, we didn't."

Miyo was wringing her hands trying to think of something she could do or say that would get the men to back away from her when Abel called down, "Ranzo, Shiva!"

Imminently the two men backed away from Miyo and both called back, "Sir!"

Miyo looked up to see both Abel and Alister glaring over the edge of the platform at the two men.

"What are you doing with her?" Alister demanded with fury.

Ranzo's brow drew together as he struggled to find his answer, "Nothing sir, we thought she was one of the Lady's friends."

"Well she's not," Alister said, "and we would appreciate it if you treated her with some kind of respect."

Both nodded and Abel and Alister disappeared from view.

Ranzo sighed with relief and came forward, "Forgive our rudeness, we did not mean anything by it, my lady."

Miyo gave him a reassuring smile and replied, "It's alright, I shouldn't be surprised dressed the way I am."  
"You know, now that I get a better look at you that dress makes you look very beautiful. You look like a princess." Shiva said.

There was that word again, "_princess…Do I really look like a princess?"_ Miyo thought to herself.

"Does the little princess have a name?" Ranzo asked.

"Oh, I'm sorry. My name is Miyo." she replied.

Ranzo and Shiva introduced themselves and both apologized to Miyo once again. With that they left and continued on their way before she realized that their names sounded familiar.

"Wait!" she called after them. They turned back to her as she ran to catch up to them. "Abel said before that he and Alister needed to talk to a Ranzo and a Shiva, would that be you two?" she continued.

The two considered for a moment before Shiva answered, "Yes, we are the only two here with those names. I would imagine Prince Blake wants a status report again."

"Don't worry princess; they know where we'll be. They have to finish talking to Avagon before they bother with us." Ranzo said with a smile.

Miyo blushed slightly at how different the two seemed after being scolded by Abel and Alister.

"If you're running their errands with them then we'll see you again shorty as well." Shiva stated with a smile of his own.

They both nodded to Miyo and continued on their way again. Miyo was left with a smile on her face as she turned and went back to her place by the gate. She was standing for a minute before her smile faded as some thoughts began passing through her mind. She wondered if her family was missing her yet, or if they even noticed she was gone. She also wondered if Tisha and the others had tried to locate her yet, and she hoped they were not worrying too much.

If they could see the land she was in they would no doubt want to be with her. Everything about it was beautiful and magical, and the people actually treated her like a real person. The one thing Miyo feared the worst was that she was dreaming, but something inside her told her that it was real, and that she should believe it. A few minutes later Abel and Alister came down from the gate, and the three continued on in the direction Ranzo and Shiva heading in a few minutes earlier.

'They didn't bother you too much did they?" Alister asked coldly.

Miyo shook her head and replied, "No, once the two of you talked to them they were really quite nice."

"Those two," Abel started, "they always have to cause trouble don't they?"

This brought a small smile to Alister's face; it was true that every time they turned around it seemed Ranzo and his older brother Shiva were always in some sort of trouble. They walked back into the castle, this time the opposite way Miyo was familiar with. There were far more people walking in this part of the castle than Miyo had seen before. She felt like she was in a completely different castle.

Most of the men walking to and from their destinations were in the same armor she had seen while standing in front of the gate, but a handful of men and women walked slowly and with very tired eyes.

"Is there something wrong with those people?" Miyo inquired motioning to one of the woman.

Abel looked for only a second before turning his eyes away and replying, "No, they are just suffering hard times."

Miyo wished to know more, but once she saw the look in both Alister and Abel's eyes she did not press the matter.

"Miyo, if you do not wish to see Ranzo and Shiva again you are welcome to go back to the courtyard to wait for us." Abel stated as they stopped at a wooden door trimmed with shining silver.

Miyo considered this for a moment before saying, "No, that's okay. I'll come with you."

Alister and Abel looked in her bright green eyes; she was an odd girl indeed. Not just any one would dare seeing those two again after being harassed by them.

"_Something must be troubling her; perhaps she was scared of something." _Abel thought to himself.

"_But what would frighten this poor girl so?" _Alister finished.

Without another word Alister knocked on the door twice and the three entered.


	2. Chapter 10

**Chapter 10:**

Chase, Tharin, and Jase walked into the Room of Mirrors in awe. The entire room looked like one giant mirror, even the floor looked like it was made out of glass.

"Whoa, is this even safe to walk on?" Jase questioned trying to balance his weight so that he stood even.

"Oh, it's quite safe." came a small voice from the center of the room. The three looked around but could only see a tiny green glow where the voice originated as it continued, "You could throw a hammer as hard as you could at any mirror in this room, and it would not shatter."

"Hello, Mrs. Leon is that you?" Chase asked walking a little more into the room.

The green light grew as the voice replied, "Yes Chase, I am here." and with that the light disappeared and in its place stood Mrs. Leon.

"Wow," Tharin stated in amazement, "how did you do that?"

Caitlin smiled at him and said, "Simple, I'm a fairy." All three were stunned beyond words. Upon seeing this Caitlin continued, "Of course, this is all new to you isn't it?"

"Yeah," Chase stammered, "You could say that."

"I am the princess of the woodland fairies." she began, "Prince Will came to my kingdom five months ago and explained that The Seer felt the coming of the Tears of Miath. He told me that I was needed in your world to protect you all until you were ready to come to our land."

"You began teaching at our school…four months ago." Chase replied, almost not believing his own words.

Jase shook his head and said, "Hold it, you mean to tell me that your teacher is a fairy princess, and she was sent to protect us?"

"We have no reason to not believe her." Chase replied crossing his arms.

"With all due respect, we don't have a reason to believe her either." Tharin stated cautiously. In a few minutes, however, everyone came to terms that Caitlin was indeed telling the truth.

"It was a good thing I arrived when I did." Caitlin said with a look of palor.

Chase looked at her and asked, "Why is that?"

She returned his look and replied, "As soon as I entered your world I felt a malevolent force trying to harness each of your powers. I tracked it down to the high school; it had a protection spell on it. I couldn't break it in my human form, and using my power would have alerted it to my presence, so I decided to observe the situation from a teacher's stand point."

"No one would suspect a teacher, at least not right away." Tharin remarked.

"Did you find out what it was?" Chase questioned concerned.

"I'm afraid not. I tried, but it could have been a number of students. I didn't want to act on suspicion, and draw attention to myself." she replied with a frown. They talked for a few hours before the conversation turned to Miyo.

"So you saw her then?" Jase asked already knowing the answer.

"Yes, I wish I could say I have not." she stated looking down.

"Her power?" Chase asked quietly.

All Caitlin could do was nod slowly. Her reflection was that of pain and sorrow. She was not Miyo's teacher, but she saw her often with Tisha and Chase, and she felt for the girl. Even though she had not used her powers Caitlin could sense the pureness of her soul, but that should not have been possible if she was The Lost One. Perhaps she had been wrong about her; thinking about it now she was almost certain of it.

"The power she wielded last night was monstrous. So much so that I thought it was a hallucination." Caitlin said finally bringing her head up.

Each thought of the horrors Caitlin must have seen the previous night as they left the Room of Mirrors, and each wished beyond hope that what she said was not true as they walked down to the main floor to find Tisha sitting on the steps.

"Hey sis," Tharin said as they all took a seat around her, "Have you been walking around all this time? You look worn out."

Tisha shook her head and replied, "No, I was down stairs with Namau."

They were silent in thought for several moments before Chase questioned in surprise, "The Seer?! What for?"

Tisha smiled and held her hand out. In seconds a pure green ball was floating a few inches above her palm.

"Whoa, you awakened your power?" Jase asked in amazement.

"No, I just learned how to use them. Namau said they would awaken when the time comes." she said with a sigh.

Tharin jumped up with excitement and said, "Yeah, but still that is pretty cool. You have to teach us how to do that."

Tharin held his hand out like Tisha and tried making a ball of his own. Tisha laughed slightly and said, "Calm down little brother. It took me a good hour to get my focus, besides I don't think I have enough energy to help you right now."

Tharin frowned and threw himself down beside his sister and sighed.

Jase laughed as Tisha's ball vanished and stated, "You're such a kid."

Before Tharin could shoot a reply back at him Waz's voice sounded behind them, "If you're tired from practicing with your powers food is the best remedy." All four turned around, and saw Waz and Silver coming down the stairs.

"Braken said you were looking for Caitlin. Did you find her?" Silver asked as they walked the rest of the way down to the main floor together.

"Yes, we did. She was in, um…" Jase struggled and Silver finished for him, "The Room of Mirrors."

'Yes," Chase answered, "what kind of room is that? I got a weird vibe when I was in there."

Both Jase and Tharin stated the same as Waz led them into the main floor dining room.

"For the most part the Room of Mirrors is used for meditation." Silver replied.

"You should be there often these next few days if you want to learn to use your powers. Meditating there will help greatly." Waz stated filling a plate with food and taking a cup of tea.

Silver followed behind him and did the same as he added, "Caitlin is there all the time, so she would be able to help you."

This time they sat together instead of dining at separate tables, and once each had several bites Tharin said cautiously, "My sister didn't use meditation. She went to see Namau this morning."

Both Waz and Silver stopped eating instantly and looked at her with horror.

Tisha, upon seeing this, asked, "Was that bad?"

Silver and Waz shared a glance before Waz questioned, "He let you in, and he didn't…do anything?"

Silver gulped down half of his cup of tea before Tisha replied, "No, he didn't seem any different than he was this morning. Although he did tell me to check with him before coming down unannounced again before I left."

Silver and Waz glanced at each other again and Waz said, "That is odd indeed. Normally The Seer doesn't like to be disturbed by anyone, and even when he sends for people he comes off as cold."

They ate in silence for the rest of their meal. While they ate Waz and Silver considered what Tisha had just told them. They had never heard of The Seer giving special treatment to anyone, let alone a stranger. They knew that these four children were the chosen ones, but he did not even welcome Prince Will with warmth, and if he chose to he could have The Seer removed from the castle with just a flick of his finger. True The Seer was great, but he could not possibly be all-powerful. After their meal was finished they spent the rest of the day together, and dined with the Prince again on the third floor for supper before retiring to their rooms for the night.

Integra was once again outside the castle gate. She yelled up to Avagon, and demanded that he open the gate. It opened in the next second, and she stormed onto the grounds much like the manner she left only and hour before.

"Welcome back my lady." Avagon said from the top of the gate.

Integra walked in without a word, and noticed Abel and Alister walking in the opposite direction. She almost called after them, but stopped herself when she saw the girl walking with them. Her rage renewed itself as she stomped away.

_"Why was she walking with them?" _Integra thought to herself, _"Why would they even consider walking any place with that little girl?" _

Integra stormed into the castle, and walked down the stairs to the dungeon. She walked past several cages, and hundreds of feet of chains before she arrived at and iron door. She knocked twice and entered. There before he stood the man in the cloak, still wearing his hood up concealing his face.

"What can I do for you, my lady?" he asked with a smile.

"I need a favor." she replied coldly to his warm question.

He bowed deeply and said, "Anything for you, my lady."

Integra scowled at him and said, "I need you to cast a spell over the guards on duty two nights from now. Take them off duty."

The man looked at her calmly, expecting her to explain, but when she did not he questioned, "Are you leading an attack on the castle?"

"Of course not you fool. The little girl that came to the castle yesterday is going to be eliminated." she said with a sneer.

Integra could not see the man's eyes, but had she suspicion would have rose in her immediately.

His body hardened with tension as he asked, "Is this Prince Blake's order?"

She smiled and said, "No, but I cannot rink him getting involved with her."

Hate welled in the man as he tried his best to keep his voice calm, "I will expect payment for this, as I'm sure you're aware."

Integra's smile vanished as she reached into her pocket, and withdrew the vile containing the purple liquid.

She held it before her and said, "This is what you asked for. It will render anyone who drinks it or inhales its vapors venerable to any type of spell or magic imaginable." The man reached for is, but she moved it away before he could grasp it and continued, "As I've said before, if I find out you used it against Prince Blake in any manner I will have your head."

Without hesitation she put the vile in his hand, and turned to leave.

Just before she walked out of the room the man called after her, "You understand I am just taking the guards off duty. I will aid you no further than that."

With a smile she replied, "I ask no more of you."

With that she left. The man waited until he could no longer hear her footsteps on the stones before he slammed his free hand on the table. He set the vile down, and almost cracked the glass in his rage.

"That wench," he said through clenched teeth, "it will not be so easy to kill that girl."

The fact still stood that he needed Miyo if his plan was to take form. The more he thought about it the more he thought he could use Miyo for more than just his plan. This was the reason behind having Integra make the elixir for him. He stared at the purple liquid, his rage dissolving as he imagined his plan. He needed to get close to her to use it, but once the elixir took over her senses it would be a simple matter to cast a binding spell on her.

The man smiled at the thought, for once she was bound to him she would be his to use in any way he desired. He picked the vile up, and held it against the warm sunlight leaking in from the small window; his face now tinted light purple. His mind wheeled for hours at the vivid images swimming through his head.

Abel, Alister, and Miyo walked into a brightly lit room. On either side of them piles of armor lay in untidy heaps. Swords, bows, and maces were strewn on every table and beside every window.

"Ah, so you decided to come along after all princess." Shiva replied with visible happiness from one of the many tables.

Upon hearing his brother's remark Razno came around a table stacked with swords and expressed his happiness, "I am so happy to see you again Miss Miyo."

Miyo was shocked by their happiness, as she had never before experienced the joy of being welcomed the way they had welcomed her.

"Um, it's good to see you guys too." she replied with a smile.

Both bowed to her, and then bowed in turn to Abel and Alister.

They kept their moods as Alister turned to Miyo and stated, "I introduce to you Razno Aleza, leader of the Silver Knights, and Shiva Aleza, commander of the Silver Knights."

Miyo nodded to them both and they glowed with even more happiness.

"Miyo," Abel stated, "would you mind waiting by that table?" he pointed to one of the further tables.

"Of course not." she replied and walked over.

"How rude Abel." Razno said with a pout, and he ran to get Miyo a chair.

She accepted the chair with a smile, and sat quietly as the four men began to talk. She could not hear anything, but she could tell that is was serious as both Razno and Shiva lost their smiles. They talked amongst themselves for eight minutes before Alister motioned to Miyo that she could come back over. She walked over, and both brothers regained their smiles.

Miyo looked down and questioned, "Am I…a burden for the two of you?"

All four were shocked, and their eyes grew wide as Abel took one of Miyo's hands and replied, "Of course not. Where did that come from?"

"It's just," Miyo began, "well both places we've been to you've told me to wait on the side. I mean if it's important I understand, but then maybe you shouldn't have asked me to come with in the first place."

She brought her eyes up, and instantly regretted her words. All four had sorrow in their eyes, and they looked at her with sadness.

Before she could say a word Razno threw his arms around her, and gave her a warm hug saying, "Don't worry princess, Abel and Alister may seem cold, but they don't mean anything by it."

"That's not it Razno." Abel said coldly.

Alister came forward and took hold of Miyo's hand and explained, "The reason we asked if you wanted to come with was because we could sense that you were uneasy. We didn't want you to feel alone."

At that Miyo apologized to both Abel and Alister, and reassured them that she didn't mean anything by what she said.

Smiles appeared on all of their faces as Abel stated, "Well I'm sure Miyo is hungry by now. Shall we go?"

Alister nodded, and they turned to leave, but before she could move Razno held fast to Miyo and asked with a pout, "Aw, are you going to make her sad again?"

They turned back in question as Shiva finished, "Maybe she wants to stay in our company." Abel and Alister shared a look and sighed shaking their heads as Shiva asked, "Well my dear, would you like us to join you?"

He looked at her with a smile, and she reddened as she stammered, "Um, sure. Why not?"

Razno released Miyo, and the brothers shared a smile of triumph as they walked out of the room together, and made their way to the dining hall. They sat together for a couple of hours filling their stomachs until none could eat a single bite. They walked out together to the main hall, and Miyo stated that she was going to her room for a while.

"Which floor is your room on? Maybe we can stop by for a visit later." Razno said.

Miyo almost answered him, but Alister put a hand over her mouth with great speed and stated, "I think not. We wouldn't want to get her flustered on her first week here. If she wants to see either of you she knows where to find you."

Both Razno and Shiva pouted, and crossed their arms, and all were silent for a few seconds before they both smiled and bowed to Miyo.

"We hope to see you soon princess." Shiva said, and with that they left.

Alister let Miyo go and said, "Sorry, but I didn't think it would have been wise to tell those two were your room was."

Miyo nodded and remarked, "Those two, they're a little like children aren't they?"

The two considered this for a moment before they broke into laughter and Abel replied, "Yes, they are aren't they." Miyo smiled, and began up the stairs, but Abel called after her, "Miyo, wait." She turned and he continued, "Prince Blake will be up to see you in a few hours. I thought you should know."

"Oh, okay. Thank you." she replied.

Abel and Alister bowed to her, and she continued her way up to her room. Once the door was closed behind her she walked to the bed, and let herself drop onto it. The bed and pillows were incredibly soft, and before she knew it Miyo was asleep. She was not plagued by the dream she awoke to early that morning, or any other dream. She rested for three hours without disturbance. She was just beginning to wake up when she heard a short set of knocks on her door. Before she could open her eyes she heard the door open, and soft footsteps padded across the hard stones. Miyo felt the bed dip beside her, and a warm hand rested on her shoulder as her eyes opened.

"Hello my dear." said Prince Blake.

Miyo sat up and said, "I'm sorry. Abel told me you were coming, but I fell asleep."

"No need to be sorry. Using your powers as they are makes even the best weary." he said with a small smile. Miyo looked surprisingly at the prince, and he continued, "Even those who are skilled with their powers get tired when they use them for a long period of time." He looked at her for some time before he continued, "So, was your first day in my castle enjoyable?"

Miyo nodded and replied, "Yes, I had a very good time."

"Good. I must say that dress looks stunning on you." Blake said with a smile.

Miyo blushed and thanked him, and asked how his day was before she could stop herself.

He looked at her with surprise, and then calm as he replied, "It was good." They sat in silence again before the Prince stated, "In three days I am going to take you out to see the land. It is not good to be kept inside for so long, especially when you are a young woman."

Miyo nodded, and saw the Prince's eyes drop to her wrists.

"Do they hurt?" he asked quietly.

Miyo brought them up and replied, "The pain comes and goes. They hurt the most when I use my powers though."

"Do you trust me?" the Prince asked looking into Miyo's eyes.

"What?" she asked a little nervously.

He broke into a small fit of laughter and asked again, "Do you trust me?"

"Yes," she replied, "I do."

Blake carefully unwrapped her wrists, and stared at the bright red wounds that ran across her skin. He took hold of them, and chanted words Miyo did not understand. Soon a purple glow illuminated from the Prince's hands. Miyo gasped as the red color dimmed to a light pink, and then disappeared all together along with the deep gashes. Cautiously Miyo smoothed over her wrist, poked it, and finally grasped it. To her surprise they did not hurt at all, not even a little bit. She looked up at the Prince, as he smiled and rose to his feet.

"I will see you at supper. Abel and Alister will come to get you." he said, turned, and opened the door.

"Thank you Prince Blake." Miyo called after him as he closed the door.


	3. Chapter 11

**Chapter 11:**

The next two days passed much like the first. At Prince Will's castle Tisha and Caitlin were working to help Chase, Tharin, and Jase in using and controlling their powers. Tharin was the first of the boys to use his power, and a brilliant blue sphere represented it. The day after Chase and Jase summoned spheres of their own. Chase's was a combination of light blue and bright green while Jase's was a little a little darker blue than Tharin's. None could awaken their powers fully, however, and that made everyone uneasy.

At Prince Blake's castle it was much the same. Abel, Alister, Razno, and Shiva were all helping teach Miyo how to control her power, and to help her grow stronger. Soon it was the morning of the attack. There was nothing different about the day, no one was on edge, and no one suspected anything. Integra checked with the cloaked man to make certain that the guards would be off duty, and he answered her that they would be.

For Integra this day could not have come sooner. She was observing, with horror, that Prince Blake and the pest were becoming more and more attracted to each other. The first assassin to infiltrate the castle was Tami, the leader. Vincent, Yuzu, and Zake followed her closely. They moved with silence and stealth through the castle, unseen, to one of the sitting rooms.

"Sapphire, do you see where the target is?" Tami asked in a hushed whisper.

"Yes," he said, "she is on the main floor with us. It looks like she's walking by herself to the main stairway. If we move fast enough we can catch her."

"Excellent, now remember if we can get her out without a fuss we do not kill her. If not, make it fast and painless." Tami stated.

All three nodded, and with that they left the room and ran to the main stairway. Miyo did not even see them coming. Vincent scooped Miyo up in his arms, and the troop continued up to the third floor. He made sure to put a hand over her mouth to keep her from screaming out. They ran without pause to the library. Once inside Zake sealed the door as Vincent put Miyo down.

"What is this, who are you?" she asked flustered.

Tami folded her arms and replied with a smile, "We are the Jeweled Assassins, and have been hired to kill you."

Miyo was at a loss for words. This was the second time in one week that her life had been in danger.

"Do not worry little one." Vincent started, "We don't have to kill you if you come with us willingly."

"Why? Why would anyone want to kill me?" Miyo asked with fear lingering in her voice.

"Sorry, that is something you do not need to know." Tami stated. She advanced towards Miyo, but she backed away from her grasp. "You have my word that if you come with us you will not be hurt." she continued coldly.

Miyo shook her head violently and backed away further. She was now pressed against the large library window.

"Have it your way." Tami said and took out a rather large sword.

Miyo trembled with fear as the three men unleashed their swords, and aimed them right at her. She did not have a weapon, and she knew she would be no match for them all in a fight. Her eyes shifted from each, and rested on Yuzu. He looked some what familiar to her, but she could not figure out why.

Miyo tried yelling, but Tami laughed and stated, "Don't waste your breath. Sapphire sealed the room so no one will hear anything."

At this fact Miyo trembled more as she desperately pressed herself against the glass.

"It will only hurt for a sew seconds, and it will be over before you know what happened." Zake said as they began to advance forward once again.

Miyo thought tears were going to flow from her eyes as she imagined what the four would do to her. Her knees almost buckled under her, but in that instant her fear melted away into rage. It was fiercer than it ever had been before, and she could feel the power inside her grow to match her fury. The four drew back several paces as they watched Miyo's eyes turn red, and a deep black aura surround her.

"Whoa, kitty's got claws." Vincent said with a smirk.

"It's nothing we can't handle." Tami said and charged at Miyo.

Miyo stood completely still until Tami was almost on top of her, and then she brought her leg up and slammed it into her chest with amazing force. Tami sailed back, and crashed into the library door with a horrific sound.

"Topaz!" Yuzu screamed.

Tami did not move at first, and when she did get to her feet a thin trail of blood dripped from her mouth. At the sight of blood Miyo's eyes deepened in color, and a small smile appeared on her face.

"You!" Zake yelled, "You will pay for that!"

He moved with blinding speed and cut at Miyo's throat, but she stepped to the side and punched him brutally in the stomach. Zake instantly coughed up blood, and Miyo kicked him in the same manner she had Tami. He too sailed back, and crashed against the door. Yuzu and Vincent stared at Miyo with horror. Before they could move Miyo sent two dark waves out and they joined their comrades at the door.

"Damn her." Tami said through gritted teeth.

She put a hand out in front of her and chanted a spell. Soon two grotesque looking creatures stood in front of them growling and snarling. They had dog-like heads, but their bodies were a dark green-brown color that looked humanoid. Their eyes were shining black, and saliva was dripping from their mouths as they began advancing towards Miyo.

"Kill her!" Tami ordered, and the two beasts leapt at Miyo.

The first latched its jaws onto her arm, ripping the dress' sleeve. The second bit into her lower leg, tearing at the black pants. Miyo cringed with pain, and screamed as blood oozed from beneath the creatures' teeth and dripped onto the floor with sickening sounds. The beasts almost over came her, but in her anguish Miyo hurled the creature on her arm into the window behind her. It hit with so much force that the entire window cracked while the creature landed on its feet and lunged at Miyo's throat. At that moment she saw Abel and Alister walk into the courtyard below her. In her terror she created a small ball of black energy and shot it at the beast. Her eyes grew wide in horror as the creature dodged out of the way, but was instantly relieved when it hit the window, and shattered it into millions of pieces. She quickly kicked the creature off her leg, and dodged around the other one with mere luck.

"Abel! Alister!" Miyo screamed with so much force that her throat ached.

They stopped walking and looked up to the window in time to see the first creature knock Miyo out the window. Both creatures leapt after her, and the four assassins were standing in the window looking after them.

"Miyo!" they both yelled at once, and ran to her.

She landed on the stones with a thud, but was unhurt from her fall. She rolled out of the way of the falling creatures as they landed lightly beside her.

Back in the library Vincent questioned with disbelief, "How in the nine hells did she do that?"

Tami shook her head, and wondered the same thing. The silencing spell Zake put on the room was very strong, yet she broke the seal with ease.

Tami's face darkened as she said, "Integra will need to explain this once we are finished here. Come!"

With that all four jumped out the window and onto the battleground.

"You're slipperier that I thought you'd be." Tami said with a forced smile.

"Demon! Why have you come?" Alister demanded unsheathing his sword with great speed.

Tami bowed and replied, "We have been hired for a job," her face grew darker, "and we never disappoint our clients."

Tami summoned two more creatures to aid the first set. Abel did not take his eyes off Yuzu as he produced his sword equally as fast as Alister and remarked, "You look oddly familiar young man."

Yuzu did not say a word, but a trail of sweat was running down the side of his face.

"Miyo, stay back. We can deal with this." Alister said moving in front of her.

"Alister," she whispered to him, "I can help."

A smile rose on Abel's face and replied, "You've been hurt enough already. Go and find a safe place."

"Oh I don't think so." Tami said and commanded the beasts to circle around the three.

Before they got a chance to attack Razno and Shiva ran into the courtyard with their swords ready.

"Yuzu! What are you doing here?" Razno demanded.

Once again Yuzu said nothing, but this time Vincent answered, "Enough of this! Come my pets!"

In moments eight giant birds flew down and landed in the courtyard, their eyes shining much like the other creatures.

"Dogmen and Falcons, you're more cautious this time around Topaz." Abel stated with a slight smile.

No one moved for two minutes, and then the entire courtyard was ablaze with battle. Eleven guards aided the four warriors against the assault, and Miyo did her best to help in any way she could from afar. Magic was flying everywhere, and the sounds of swords echoed through the area. Abel was fighting Tami, Alister was fighting Vincent, and two other guards were fighting Yuzu and Zake. Razno, Shiva, and the other guards were doing their best to destroy the dogmen and falcons.

Miyo was engaged in a fight with a dogman when one of the larger falcons flew at her and grazed the arm that had been wounded earlier. She flinched in pain, and the dogman took the opportunity to claw at her wounded leg. Miyo screamed as a flash of agony ran through her, and fell to her knees. This drew the attention of Abel, Alister, and the others. Once on her knees she had no way of defending herself against the dogman's claws. They raked Miyo's back, and she screamed once again as blood began dripping from the wound.

Suddenly the dogman went flying across the courtyard and the voice of the Prince rang though the area, "Leave her alone demon!"

He appeared in the center of the courtyard in seconds with rage on his face. At the Prince's appearance the entire castle was in an uproar. Vincent and Tami summoned more falcons and dogmen as the rest of the guards entered the battlefield. Miyo tried getting to her feet, but her body collapsed the second she stood upright.

"Miyo!" Shiva shouted, "Don't move! There's a very lethal poison secreted in the claws of dogmen. The more you move about the faster the poison will move through your body."

Miyo stayed perfectly still as the battle raged on around her. Her heart was pounding in her chest at the thought of poison running through her blood. Abel sent an enormous black wave from his sword, and destroyed one of the dogmen just before Tami hit him with a dark ball of energy. He hit the courtyard wall, and countered with a spell of his own. Abel charged after her as she turned and ran, but before he caught up to her a falcon swooped at his head.

He ducked and avoided the bird, but got a knee in his face that sent him falling on his back. He put a hand to his face, and it came away bloody as his senses filled with the smell and taste of blood. Tami stood over him and laughed at his pain.

Jase came running out of the castle to join the others in looking towards the west. The entire area was lit with numerous colors of magic, and bright specks of fire.

"What on earth is going on over there?" Jase questioned with eagerness.

"It's Blake's castle, there's no doubt about that." Prince Will replied coldly.

They continued to watch, and each worried about what was happening.

"Prince Will!" came Caitlin's voice form behind them, "Should I go?"

"No, I forbid you to leave." he said harshly.

Several moments later a huge ball of light erupted from the center of the mountain range. Then everything returned to darkness.

"They have a wicked training program over there." Tharin stated.

At that Silver shook his head and stated, "That doesn't look like training to me."

They all remained silent, waiting for a light, a shimmer, and sign to show if the battle still raged. Nothing happened, the only sound was the light breathing of the four groups of people standing on the overlook.

"Do you think something happened?" Tisha asked nervously.

"It must have. I don't see anything." Waz replied quietly.

Jase's face darkened as he whispered to himself, "Miyo…"

There was maddening silence ringing through the entire castle, but no one dared say a word or make any kind of sound.

"Waz," Prince Will started, "I think you should go and see The Seer. Ask him what's going on or if he knows anything."

Waz bowed and turned to leave, but just ask he reached the door a huge, blinding red light burst from the castle. It was so enormous and bright that it illuminated Prince Will's castle in bright crimson.

"What is that?!" Chase shouted in horror.

Waz walked back slowly, not taking his eyes off the light he said, "I've never seen such power before. It's…monstrous."

"You don't think it could be…" Tisha trailed off.

She did not have to finish, because every one was thinking the same thing. There was no question that what The Seer said was true, but this power was beyond anything any of them imagined.

"Caitlin, is this what you saw before?" Will asked in horror.

Caitlin shook her head and took a moment to answer him, "No, this is far greater than what I saw before. It's almost…like…" she could not bring herself to finish.

"Is this," Chase began, "the Tear?"

"It could be." Silver replied, "We can't know for certain unless we ask The Seer."

The light died away, and all was still once again, but no one moved for several minutes. All thought something else, even more terrifying, was going to happen. When all remained still Waz turned to leave, but stopped short with wide eyes as The Seer came through the door.

"Forgive me Waz, I did not mean to scare you." he said as he walked past him and over to the edge of the overlook. He was holding a lit black candle with ancient writing carved into the wax, and the fire was a bright blue. "Prince Will, it has happened. Miyo Richards' power has awakened." he stated holding the candle in front of him.

Will was beyond words, but Silver spoke for him, "Is that what it's like when the Tears of Miath awaken?"

The Seer looked out over the land and replied, "No, the power exerted from a Tear awakening should be no where near that powerful. Something has happened, something that shouldn't have."

"Namau, can you tell what it is?" Prince Will questioned, his eyes not leaving the candle.

The Seer considered for a moment and replied hesitantly, "If there were powers forcing themselves on the host at the time of awakening, then that would have an effect on the awakening force. I would wager that is what happened."

"So they are, or rather, were being attacked. The question is why." Waz summarized simply.

Miyo blacked out for a few minutes, and when she came to she wished she had not. All around her was chaos. There were more dogmen and falcons then before, and it looked like the assassins were overcoming Prince Blake's warriors, the Silver Knights. Abel and Alister were kneeling by the furthest wall with blood dripping from both. Razno and Shiva were fighting their hardest to overcome the army of dogmen biting and clawing their way into the ranks of the Silver Knights. Hordes of falcons were diving and swooping at everything that moved, and torn it into shreds with their powerful beaks.

Miyo rose up on her hands and knees, and then struggled to her feet. In seconds a rush of nausea and dizziness took hold of her. The effect of the poison was taking over her senses. If she wanted to act she must do it now. Miyo walked only a few paces when three large falcons attacked her.

"Miyo!" Abel yelled from his position, but the warning came too late.

Miyo fell back to the hard stones in agony. Her back felt like it was on fire, and her other wounds were now burning in furious pain. Suddenly a blast of magic destroyed two of the three falcons. Miyo looked up to see Avagon rush to her side just as seven more falcons arrived for the feast.

"Be still my dear. I know it hurts, but you must not move." Avagon said as he shot another blast of magic at the falcons, killing four more.

"Out of the way old man!" Vincent shouted and shout a ball of fire at him."

"Avagon!" Miyo called and tired to get up, but she was still again as Avagon dodged the fireball, and shot one of his own.

It slammed into Vincent and sent him flying across the courtyard.

"It will take more than that to kill me." he said and smiled at Miyo.

She smiled back at him, but her smile vanished as Yuzu appeared behind him and stabbed him through his heart. Her eyes grew wide in horror as Avagon coughed up blood, and fell to the ground dead.

"No!" Miyo shouted, her red eyes returning to green for the first time since she was in the library.

"That's for Amethyst, you bastard." Yuzu said as he stepped over Avagon's lifeless body. "And as for you," he continued, "it is time for you to die."

Miyo's eyes were still on Avagon as they welled with tears. Yuzu joined the others, and they prepared a joint spell to finish the job they had been given.

"Miyo! Run!" Alister yelled, which drew the attention of everyone else.

All of the magic stopped when they released their spell. It was an enormous ball of light, and it slammed into Miyo at full force. Once again Miyo was unconscious. The spell had taken away every bit of energy she had left, and more from her. Prince Blake, as well as everyone else, was horrified. Abel and Alister looked on with their mouths open, neither able to say a word.

This time Miyo could see in the darkness around her. She was covered in red light with the black snow falling all around her. Tears were falling from her eyes, as all she could think about was Avagon's body surrounded by a pool of blood. He had saved her, and sacrificed his life for her, yet she was a stranger to him. They were all trying to save her, but in her heart she did not know why. She had only spent a few days with them. Miyo considered them all her friends, but she was constantly worrying about Tisha and the others.

What right did she have to be in such an amazing world? Why did they call her a princess and sacrifice themselves for her? Hate raged within her stronger than it ever had been before. She would not let Avagon's sacrifice be for nothing. The assassins would not get away with this.

Miyo's eyes flew open. No trace of green could be seen, as they were pure crimson. She rose to her feet without difficulty. Her body racked with pain, but she ignored it. Her hate was getting stronger by the second. With tears still pouring from her eyes she screamed in fury. All four assassins shot beams of light at her without a word. They slammed into her, and knocked her to the ground.

"Let's finish this, and get out of here." Zake said forming another energy ball.

Without pause laughter filled the courtyard. The Prince's eyes drew to Miyo's body, and soon so did everyone else as she rose to her feet again. She raised her head to reveal blood red eyes fiercer than they had ever been before. Miyo screamed again, but this time a red light even more intense than her eyes poured out of her every being. It illuminated everything in and around the castle, and made sight impossible. One by one all of the falcons and dogmen vanished. She began rising into the air, and the power flowing from her intensified ten fold.

"What is this?!" Vincent shouted.

No one had time to answer him as Miyo flew at blinding speed, picking up Avagon's sword as she passed, to where Yuzu was standing. He had no time to react as she drove Avagon's sword through his chest. Blood oozed from the wound at quickening speed.

"Emerald!" Zake screamed as he moved to help Yuzu.

Miyo was faster than Zake, and she pulled the sword out of Yuzu's chest and flew to meet him. She hit him hard with her knee, and he flew back crashing into Vincent. Miyo landed on her feet lightly, and held Avagon's sword out in front of her. Behind her Yuzu spewed blood from his mouth, and fell to the ground.

"We're leaving. Right now." Tami said.

Zake and Vincent said nothing as they left with Tami, leaving Yuzu behind. Miyo turned slowly back to Yuzu, and drove the sword through his back. It crushed part of his spine with a sickening crunch. Blood began making its way out of his body, and stained the stones bright crimson to match Miyo's eyes. She backed away from the body with unblinking eyes, and surveyed the area.

The red light started to disappear along with her anger, and soon she found herself growing exhausted. Miyo turned to Abel and Alister, and was shocked by the fear in both of their faces. Miyo dropped Avagon's sword, and reflected on what she had just done. Once all the light vanished her eyes returned to normal, and she fell forward. Overcoming his fear Alister ran forward, and caught her before she hit the ground. Miyo struggled to look up at him, and he saw the sadness in her eyes.

"Alister…" she stammered, and fell unconscious in his arms.

His face hardened as he picked her up, and took her to Prince Blake.

"Prince Blake, should I take her to her room?" he asked.

The Prince nodded and replied, "Yes, she needs to be healed so take Abel with you. Be…cautious."

Alister bowed, and motioned for Abel to follow him. After several seconds of hesitation Abel follow. They walked Miyo hastily up to her room, and began undressing her.

"Shouldn't we have one of the female servants do this?" Alister asked nervously slipping her dress off.

"We don't have time to find one." Abel replied, and slipped her leggings off.

Abel healed her wounded leg as much as he could while Alister worked on her arm. Once finished they bound the wounds in bandages, and slowly turned her on her side to examine the scratches on her back. The skin was already turning a light purple, and the wounds were outlined in a deep red-black.

"We need to treat this fast before it spreads." Abel stated.

Alister replied with a nod, and the two got to work. It took a full ten minutes for them to isolate the toxin. While they worked they chanted a healing spell to prevent the poison from returning. They finished by binding the wound, and chanted a final healing spell or good measure.

"That should do it. We can't do anything more for her." Alister said walking to the door.

Abel pulled the covers over her and said, "She has to overcome the rest of the poison and wounds on her own."

The two of them looked back at her once more before they walked out.


	4. Chapter 12

**Chapter 12:**

"What was that?!" Zake demanded.

The three had ran all the way back to their hideout fearing for their lives.

Tami was out of breath but she answered him, "I don't know. I am going back to have a word with Integra."

Vincent came forward and shouted, "No! You'll be killed too! I tried to talk you out of going, but you had so much confidence in your so called friend!"

"Don't talk to me like that!" Tami shouted back.

Zake got in the middle of them and shouted at Tami, "Why? Because of you we lost Emerald, and the last time we went to the castle we lost Amethyst! You are to blame for both of their deaths!"

Before Tami could reply a voice came from the far side of the cave, "My word, we leave for two months, and come home to find you children still arguing."

The three turned to find two men sitting on one of the piles of gold smiling at them.

"Diamond, Crystal!" Tami shouted in surprise, and ran over to them.

The one that spoke put a hand up and said, "Please, you all are always so loud."

"So Yuzu was killed?" questioned the other.

"Yes," she answered, "we were…" he held up his hand to stop her.

"I don't want to hear what happened. We saw the light, that's all we're concerned about."

Tami could not believe the words she was hearing as she tried to talk to him, "Zolf…"

He glared at her with golden eyes shining and stated, "I have told you all before that we are not your caretakers. We are not your guardians. Your problems are not our problems, and we will not aid you with them. You came to us, we did not come to you."

Tami was on the verge of tears at the harshness of his words, but she knew what he had said to be true. They helped each of them when they asked for it, but they would leave them to die if the opportunity proved to be unbeneficial to them.

"Now Zolf, you don't need to be so cruel to the girl." Crystal said.

"Thank you Mazaru." Tami whispered so softly it was barely audible.

He smiled softly at her. The tips of his teeth were poking over his lip ever so slightly. Zolf got up off of the pile of gold, and walked into the dim light of the cavern.

He looked at Zeke, Vincent, and Tami and questioned, "So what are we going to do about this?" All were silent and he continued in irritation, "Come now, you were yelling and screaming at each other not two minutes ago." He turned to Tami and demanded, "You will tell me everything that happened tonight. Everything."

Tami nodded, and began when Integra came to them two days ago. By the time she ended with the three of them running from the castle she was trembling before Zolf's gaze.

"This girl intrigues me greatly." Mazaru said with a wide smile.

"Yes, she interests me as well." Zolf stated.

Mazaru hoisted himself off of the gold pile, walked over to Zolf, and put an arm around his shoulders asking, "How long has it been since you visited your prince?"

Zolf turned his head slowly to Mazaru and returned his smile, "Far too long." The two shared a laugh as he turned to Tami, "This time you three will stay behind. They'll recognize you if you come with us."

Tami bowed, and motioned for Zake and Vincent to follow her to the sleeping area. Once gone the two raised their moods form the usual dark manner to a lighter one.

"What are you going to do once you have her?" Mazaru questioned sliding into a nearby chair.

Zake considered this for a moment then replied, "If she truly is as powerful as she seems then I might just have to keep her alive."

Mazaru was silent for a minute before he said carefully, "You could turn her. Being that she's human she will age. If you turn her she would be completely yours."

Zolf turned to him and smiles revealing pure white teeth, "Don't you mean ours?"

Integra watched in terror as the assassins fled from the castle leaving Yuzu's corpse behind. She was stunned beyond words at the intense power Miyo had exerted, and even more so at the way the Prince looked at her. It was not fear or anger she saw; it was not even amusement, what she saw was awe. He did not show anywhere near that when she used her powers for him. Integra backed away from the window, and went in search for the cloaked man.

She made it to the main floor before a voice came from her left, "Integra! Where were you? We could have used your help."

Integra turned to see Razno walking towards her.

"Not now." she shot, and continued walking.

Razno's face hardened, and he grabbed her arm wheeling her back to face him.

"Let go of me!" she snapped, and slapped his face.

She stormed away as Razno slowly wiped away a thin line of blood from his lip.

"What's her problem?" Shiva asked from behind him.

Turning Razno replied, "She's up to something."

Integra ran down the steps to the dungeon, and all the way to the iron door. She slammed her fist on the door once, and then twice franticly looking over her shoulder with each knock. The door opened with a creak as the man peered out cautiously. Upon seeing whom it was he opened it fully.

"Ah, hello my lady." he said with a slight smile, "What can I do for you?"

"You have failed in your task." she said coldly as he led her into his room.

He took a seat and questioned, "I don't know what you mean."

Integra glared at him and replied, "You know very well what I mean. I asked you to take the guards off duty tonight, and you did not."

The man shook his head slowly and remarked, "I took them off duty. I cannot help the fact that your plan didn't go as well as you would have hoped." His smile widened as he continued, "I saw whom you employed for the job. Maybe you should have gone somewhere else. The Jeweled Assassins have not been the same since Diamond and Crystal left."

Integra did not say a word for she kept playing the last moment of the battle through her mind.

Several minutes passed before she questioned, "How could she have so much power?"

The man ignored her question and followed with a question of his own, "Tell me, out of curiosity, do you desire her dead so badly?"

She looked at him and answered, "Dead, alive, I care not. I just want her out of my way, and out of the castle." Upon seeing the look in his eyes she continued, "You wish to take her for your own. The question remains, why?"

"One could say she interests me." he stated, his smile vanishing. "If you do not have any more ideas then I will step in to claim her."

Integra considered for a moment then replied, "Do what you want with her. I will replay you when I see that she is gone."

As she got up to leave the man stated, "I do not want payment for this. I am taking her on my own time, and when the moment is right. Unlike the Assassins I am not putting a dead line on my task." Integra was about to protest as he continued, "If the Prince and the girl get more attracted to one another that is not my affair, however, once I am finished it will be just as it was before she arrived. If it bothers you so much I would advise avoiding them both as much as possible."

Integra held her tongue as she walked out of his room, and up to the main floor. She soon realized her whole world was falling apart.

Prince Blake watched as Alister carried Miyo away. He was surprised at how much she had improved with her powers. The extent of her power was overwhelming, and now there was no doubt in his mind that she was in fact a Tear of Miath. He looked to where the fallen assassin's body lay. Razno and Shiva stood over him for a time before they both retired to the castle. Blake glanced briefly at a wound on his right arm. It was bleeding slightly, but there was no pain and it was already beginning to heal. He walked briskly into the castle, and made his way to his throne room where he took a seat.

"The only thing that happened," he whispered to himself, "was that she saw Avagon get killed. Why would that enrage her so?"

Avagon was nothing more than a gate guard; there should have been no reason for her outrage. Blake shifted in his chair as he recalled each and every detail of the battle. One thing did not seem clear to him. Why of all people would the Jeweled Assassins be after Miyo? The Prince knew that she had not been lying when she said that she was from another world so there would be no reason why they would want her dead. The only reason he could think of is that someone hired them. But who, and why? Black got out of his chair, and paced back and forth between the second door and his throne. He did this for three minutes before he stopped dead in his tracks with his eyes growing wide.

"Integra." he stated.

It made perfect sense now. She seemed threatened by Miyo the first time she saw her, and if she could not get rid of her herself she would have someone else do her work for her. Rage boiled within him. He needed Miyo's help, and Integra had no right to take that away from him. Now that he thought of it Integra was not in the battle. He began to storm out of the room in search for Integra when Razno and Shiva walked through the door.

"Sir," Razno started, "we need to talk to you."

"It can wait." he shot and walked around them. "Unless you know where I can find that witch then I don't have time to talk to you."

"Prince Blake is actually is about Integra." Shiva called after him hastily. He stopped dead and waited for him to continue, "We just saw her not five minutes ago, and she was acting suspicious."

"You see sir she didn't help us in the battle and when I questioned her about it she refused to answer. Then she turned and ran down to the dungeon." Razno stated.

Prince Blake remained still considering everything the two brothers had just told him.

"The dungeon you say?" he asked.

"Yes sir. Though I don't know if she's still down there." Razno replied.

The Prince nodded and walked out the door leaving the two behind.

"Do you think he suspects her as well?" Shiva questioned folding his arms.

"He must," Razno replied, "the way he was acting leaves little for doubt."

The two shared a look before they walked out of the throne room, and began walking to the steps. They were unsure of what to do next; they could either accompany Prince Blake down to find Integra, or go upstairs to see how Miyo was doing. Before they could decide Abel and Alister walked down the stairs.

"Abel, Alister, how is she?" Razno asked desperately.

"She's fine for the time being." Abel replied.

The brother were silent as the two sat heavily on the stairs as Alister stated, "I wonder why this has happened. They had no reason I can think of to attack us."

Razno and Shiva considered this for a moment. Abel and Alister had only been thinking about Miyo these past few moments. Razno began telling them what they had discovered.

"Jase you can't!" Tisha shouted running after Jase.

"Braken won't let you out." Tharin stated folding his arms.

"I don't care, I have to go see if she's alright." Jase called back to them.

Jase walked out of the castle and practically ran to the gate. Just before he reached it Waz stepped in front of him with his hands raised.

"Please Jase, just calm down. If anything would have happened to her The Seer would have said something."

Jase tried pushing past him, but he held on to his arms fast and he shouted, "Waz let go of me." Waz forced him back and Jase stated, "If I have to fight you to get past you then I will, but I will go to Blake's castle one way or another."

Chase came running behind Jase and put an arm around him saying, "Don't do something you're going to regret." Jase tried pushing him away but he held on and continued, "Jase please, if you run in there without a plan you could get yourself killed."

Jase stopped struggling at Chase's calm words, and he took a deep breath. Chase let go of him and he sunk to the ground taking another deep breath.

They all thought he was going to break into tears, but when he spoke his voice held strong, "I'm so pathetic. I want to protect her but I haven't even seen her since we came here. Even if she was here I wouldn't be able to do anything."

All were silent as Tisha, Tharin, and Chase were thinking the same thing. Each wanted to see and help Miyo, but with being restricted to the castle there was nothing they could do. In Jase's mind he was wishing that something, anything, would help him in anyway if it would mean helping Miyo.

Suddenly Jase began glowing a deep green. He brought his hands up and looked into them as they too were glowing. Everyone backed away from him as he rose to his feet and looked around. Everything was tinted green, and without warning a more intense light erupted from him. When the light died down Jase was still standing in the same position he was before.

"What on earth was that?" Chase asked in amazement.

Tisha's lips drew into a smile as she replied, "I think Jase's power just awakened."

Before another word could be spoken The Seer's voice echoed through the area, "That is correct Tisha." They turned to see him walking towards them holding another candle. This one was pure white with a gorgeous green flame emanating from the wick. "His power awakened when the desire to protect his friend became stronger then his will to survive." he continued.

Jase put his hand out in front of him and a bright green ball appeared in his palm. Everyone could feel the new power behind it.

"Wow, it feels like…a whole new life." Jase remarked.

"That is the strength of your new power Jase. Remember you are Bolum, the Protector, the protector of life." The Seer explained as he turned and walked back the way he came.

"So two of the five tears are awake." Silver stated coming around the corner.

Jase nodded and said, "Tisha, Tharin, and Chase need their powers to awaken, and then we can go save Miyo."

"Jase," Tisha started, "don't you remember what Namau said? He told us that Miyo was not in danger."

Jase's face hardened at her words, but soon calmed as the reality of the situation set in. It was true that they needed time for their powers to awaken, and even then they still had to find out why they were here. Jase nodded in reply, and the four walked back to the castle together with their hearts beating in anticipation.

Miyo was surrounded by darkness again. This was the first time since her first day in this land that darkness overtook her in her sleep. Something was different this time though. The air was more welcoming, and she was not afraid, as she had been before. Miyo expected to see the red light surrounded by black, or the blue light surrounded by white, but she did not see anything.

Remembering what had happened the last time she began to walk. She could not tell how long she had been walking. She thought it was four minutes, but it could have easily been four hours. Miyo came upon a blue light, but it was different than it was before. Instead of being surrounded by white light it was just pure blue light surrounded by the darkness.

She knew what was coming but tried to talk anyway, "Hello."

She jumped at her own voice for she was sure it would fail her. At the sound of Miyo's voice the blue orb grew in brightness and in diameter, and soon began taking human shape. In seconds the light transformed into a beautiful young woman. She was see through, as Miyo observed, and had long flowing hair. The only thing Miyo could not see through was the girl's bright blue eyes.

"Hello." the girl replied in a quiet voice.

Her voice was lighter than the female voice she had heard before but just to make sure Miyo asked, "Are you the one who talked to me before?"

"No," she answered, "this is the first time I have spoken to you."

Miyo was shaken to discover a third being in her mind, and was quite sure she was going crazy.

As if she read her thoughts the girl stated, "You are not crazy Miyo, just…unfortunate."

Miyo's green eyes struggled against the brilliance of the girl's as she questioned, "Who are you?"

The girl smiled at her and replied, "My name is Azara."

"Can you tell me what's going on, why am I here?" Miyo questioned timidly.

Azara's smile disappeared as she answered, "I am sorry Miyo, it is not my place to tell you. When you awaken this time we will not be able to meet in your dreams again for some time."

"Then, can you tell me anything? Anything at all?" she asked desperately.

Azara considered for a moment before answering, "Alright, I will tell you all that I can. Walk with me." Miyo nodded and the two began walking into the abyss. "I will begin with Miath and Kiyo," she began and continued to tell her the story of the tragic lovers and the tears themselves.

"So does that make you a Tear?" Miyo asked.

"Yes, I am known as the Lost Spirit." Azara replied.

Miyo was silent for some time. Azara walked with her not saying a word. She knew this was hard for Miyo to take in. After all she was human, and she was not from Hethron. All of a sudden Miyo stopped dead in her tracks with her eyes growing wide.

"Miyo?" Azara asked a little concerned.

"This is Hethron?" Miyo asked shocked.

Azara nodded and asked, "Why?"

Miyo's face reddened slightly and her breath came in short bursts as she replied, "The Tale Of The Brother Of Light And The Brother Of Darkness."

"What is that?" Azara questioned intrigued.

Miyo quickly told the story of the brothers, never faltering or skipping a line. She said it perfectly just like she was reading it from the book. Azara listened with interest just as Miyo had done with her story, and when she was finished it was Azara's eyes that grew wide.

"That sounds like the story of Prince Will and Prince Blake." she said with wonder. "In fact that sounds exactly like Prince Will and Prince Blake."

Miyo looked at her and questioned, "Who's Prince Will?"

Azara returned her look with one of surprise, "Why, he is Prince Blake's twin brother."

Miyo was shocked. She did not even thick Prince Blake had a brother. Azara's essence began to fade slightly.

"Azara! Are you okay?" Miyo asked.

Azara returned with a smile and said, "Yes, do not worry my dear. I can not stay visible for long because you are still very weak from the battle."

"You…that was you all those times." Miyo remarked in awe.

"The power was indeed mine, but you used it. You made it your own." Azara explained fading more with each passing second. Before she faded completely she stated, "Your power is not evil Miyo. Never fear it, use it. Remember that I will always be by your side no matter if you can see me or not."

With that Azara was gone. Miyo was still in shock from everything Azara had told her, and the fact that she was actually in Hethron blew her mind. She wanted to wake up so badly it was unbearable. Everything was becoming clearer now, and it explained her feelings towards Blake. If he was really the Prince of Darkness then her feelings for him were real.

She had told Tisha numerous times that she could feel herself falling in love with him, but Tisha thought she was just going through a faze that every girl goes through when she reads a book or watches a movie. Miyo's heart began to race at the thought of seeing him again, and tried waking up again, but to no avail. Laughter rang through the darkness and sent chills running through Miyo.

Soon a voice followed, "Do you really think the two of you will live happily ever after like in a fairy tail?"

"Who's there?" Miyo asked but she already recognized the voice.

It was the same voice that plagued her the last time she was in the darkness.

The voice laughed again and replied mockingly, "My name in of no concern of yours, my little Miyo."

A second set of chills rocked Miyo's nerves. She could soon see the red light, and it was coming closer. The light did not fly up in her face this time, and it was considerably dimmer then it had been before.

"What do you want?" Miyo demanded.

The light flickered as it laughed once again and replied, "There are many thinks I want my dear. You being among them."

"Why?" she shot back, "What do I have to do with any of this?"

The orb brightened when it spoke next, "You don't remember, do you?" But then how could you, you were only an infant at the time." Miyo's nerves calmed some at the words the orb uttered, but she did not understand what they meant. The orb must have sensed this as it spoke, "You have more things in common with this world then they think my dear.

Again Miyo was silent. Soon the orb began to grow in size, and just like Azara it took on human form. The orb took the form of a young male with bright red eyes and crimson hair. Unlike Azara he was not see through, and all of his features were clear. His face was almost, if not more gorgeous than Prince Blake's.

He smiled at Miyo and remarked, "You are surprised I see. Is it so unbelievable to find a beautiful face behind a menacing aura?" Miyo's eyes were wide as the mysterious youth moved closer to her and continued, "The poison within you is strong. I can feel it seeping into your blood stream. You have a long road ahead of you, and I will guide you if you allow it."

He was so close to her now that she could feel his breath on her skin. Then he did the unthinkable, and it surprised Miyo so much that she could not move. The youth brought his face down to hers, and kissed her lips ever so gently. It only lasted a few seconds, but it seemed like an eternity to Miyo.

When he finally broke away from her he smiled at whispered, "It is time for you to wake up now."

Without another word a flash of red illuminated the darkness, and soon Miyo was surrounded by light.

Prince Blake walked hastily down the dungeon hall. He did not knock as he flung the door to the man's room open.

"Where is she?!" he demanded.

The man was standing with his back to the Prince with his hood down. His black hair was shimmering in the moonlight.

Without turning to face him he asked, "Who are you looking for sir?"

"Don't give me that. I know she was here, and I want to know where she went." the Prince demanded in rage.

The man shook his head and stated, "I'm sorry, but the lady left in a rush. I didn't ask where she was going though if I had to guess I would say that she went to her room."

Prince Blake frowned and turned to leave, but stopped and asked, "Was she the cause of this?" The man was silent, his hazel eyes never leaving the window. Blake did not get angry at the silence but he demanded again, "Answer me, was that witch the reason my castle was attacked tonight?"

The man sighed and replied, "I can not say my Prince, but one thing is certain, the castle was not the main reason for this attack."

Prince Blake left it at that, and closed the door silently behind him as he left. The man could sense the Prince's fury, and the fact that he was containing that fury both concerned and amused him. Prince Blake was not one to keep his rage inside, and to think that he would take the news of mutiny without so much as rising an eyebrow was unthinkable.

The Prince walked calmly walked back up to the main floor, and noticed the others sitting on the steps. At the sight of their Prince each rose, and came down from the staircase. He looked at them, nodded, and walked back out to the courtyard. Chills were running through each man's nerves. The look in the Prince's crystal blue eyes would set Death himself on edge. He surveyed the battle area slowly. His now crimson eyes wavering ever so slightly on the various blood pools located around the courtyard. With a snap of his fingers the broken and ruined area returned to the way it was before the battle.

The only signs left of the battle was the bodies of Yuzu and Avagon. Prince Blake walked over to where the bodies lay, looked at them for several seconds, then walked back into the castle from the opposite side. He debated over going up and confronting Integra on her actions, but decided to leave her be for the time being.

"Prince Blake?" Abel's voice came from behind him. He turned and saw Abel and Alister standing in the hall looking concerned, "Are you alright?"

"I'm fine Abel." he replied, "How's Miyo?"

"She's fine for the moment. The poison was hard to treat, and I don't think she's out of danger just yet. We are waiting for her to regain consciousness." Alister remarked.

"She's very strong, I'm sure she will be fine." Abel stated with a forced smile.

The Prince nodded and said, "Can you take care of the bodies?"

"Of course." Abel said. The two turned to leave, but just then Abel turned back and suggested, "Sir, maybe you should go see her. The Prince's red eyes shot up to Abel's and he added quickly, "Just a thought, but I think she'd appreciate it."

The thought of seeing her put him at ease, and his eyes returned to their natural blue. He only took a moment to walk up the stairs, and slowly open Miyo's door. He peered in at first, and then walked in and silently closed the door behind him. The Prince walked carefully over to the bed making sure not to make a sound.

He put a hand gently on Miyo's forehead. She was burning up. Taking his hand away he chanted a spell, and looked down at her again. Her breathing was softer now, and her face was not as red. He thought, and was hoping, that she would wake up, but she did not. Blake's eyes softened, and he drew close to her. He felt his heart beat against his chest as his lips drew closer to hers. He stayed apart from her for a minute before straightening and walking out of the room.


	5. Chapter 13

**Chapter 13:**

Miyo's eyes opened, and she saw Abel and Avagon sitting by the side of her bed.

"Welcome back." Alister said smiling at her.

She tried to get up, but her body was racked with pain.

"It's best if you don't move for a while. Your body is still weak from the poison." Abel stated.

Miyo nodded and questioned, "How long have I been out?"

"About two days now." Alister replied.

"What?" she asked in surprise, "I didn't think I was asleep for that long."

Abel nodded and stated, "Yes, you had us worried for a little while. We were afraid you weren't going to pull through."

Miyo looked down at herself. She had a bandage wrap on her arm where the dogman bit her, and she could feel one on her leg as well. When she moved she winced at the pain in her back, and knew that she had wrappings there as well. Miyo's eyes rose to the ceiling as he thoughts turned to her latest dream.

As she recalled all of the information she questioned, "Abel, Alister, what are you?""

The two turned to her as Alister replied, "What do you mean?"

Miyo considered how she should say her next statement, "Well I know you're not human, right?"

"Oh, of course." Abel remarked, "We are both elves."

Miyo stared at them in wonder as Alister elaborated, "Abel is from the higher ranked kingdom of dark elves, and I am from the lower, but we are both princes."

"Princes, but then why are you serving Prince Blake if you yourselves are princes?" Miyo asked as she tried to sit up again.

Abel moved to stop her as he replied, "The Prince took us under because our fathers are under contract from him. As long as we stay by his side our kingdoms are protected by him."  
Miyo nodded, and tried to ask another question but Alister stopped her, "You need to rest Miyo. Once you're back to one hundred percent you can ask all you want, but right now you should sleep."

Miyo shot them a poutful look that caused them both to redden slightly.

They got up to leave but Miyo, forgetting her pain, sat up and called, "Stay, please. I don't want to be stuck here by myself."

Both smiled and nodded to her, and they walked back to sit by the bed. In a few minutes Miyo was asleep again. Three hours later Miyo woke up, but this time she was alone in her room. Sitting up proved to be difficult, but it did not hurt her as bad this time around. Miyo debated for several minutes before she pushed the covers back and rose to her feet. She instantly wished she had not as the floor was like ice, but her muscles ached from lying on the bed for so long that she had to get up and stretch them.

Looking out her window she saw that is was already dark out, and very few candles were lit from what she could see. Before walking away from her bed she looked down at herself. By the moonlight she saw that she was wearing a very thin black nightgown. She could see the wrapping on her arm and around her upper body, and she could just make out the one on her leg. Grabbing the top blanket from the bed she threw it over her shoulders, and walked carefully out of her room.

It took a full six minutes for her to walk down the hall, and another nine to walk down the stairs to the main floor. Miyo figured it was late because no one was around, not even one guard could be seen. Miyo turned to a short hallway that she had never been to before. She walked down and came to a large door. She could not see much detail, but she could tell from feeling it that it was wooden, with smooth metal trim. She knocked lightly on the door, and when no one answered she knocked louder. She waited several seconds, and when no one answered she opened the door and stepped in.

Miyo made sure the door was soundless as it closed behind her, and she began to make her way into the room. Half way into the room she stopped and gasped at the sight of the Prince sleeping soundly in a large chair. Miyo's thoughts screamed at her that this is his throne room, and that she did not belong here. Prince Blake looked so peaceful that Miyo almost listened to her own thoughts and left so she would not disturb him, but her back was causing her so much pain that she had to sit down to relieve the pressure.

She eased herself down, and gently leaned back so that the front of the chair was supporting her back. To her dismay she could feel herself drifting back to sleep in a matter of minutes. Biting her lower lip she pushed against the chair, and gasped out in pain.

Miyo could not see the Prince from her position, but she did hear him remark, "You know it wouldn't hurt so much if you would bundle that blanket up behind you."

Cursing herself Miyo stated, "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to wake you."

She moved forward and was about to get up, but the Prince's hand rested gently on her shoulder and he said, "Stay, I don't mind."

Miyo instantly relaxed at his words as she replied, "If I bundle the blanket behind me I won't have anything to keep me warm."

Miyo noticed his hand still rested on her shoulder when he took it away and stood up. She did not know what he had in mind, but she trusted him completely. He helped her to her felt slowly so he would not cause her pain, and once on her feet he picked her up in his arms. Miyo's face reddened as the Prince turned and walked out of the throne room with her in his arms.

"You shouldn't be up and walking around at this hour. I'll take you back to your room so you can sleep." he said to her.

"Um," Miyo protested, "That's why I'm up actually."

Prince Blake stopped by the stairs and replied, "Why?"

"I couldn't sleep anymore because my legs and back were hurting so much." she replied.

Blake nodded and began walking up the stairs, "I'll put a spell over them so they don't hurt so much. The poison is to blame for that."

They stayed silent until they reached Miyo's door and Blake put her down. Miyo cringed at the icy stones again, but something else ailed her.

"Miyo…" the Prince started staring at her back in horror as she leaned against the door.

Through her gown he saw a dark patch spreading through her wrappings. Pushing against the throne had caused Miyo's wound to reopen. The pain was so intense that it made her shudder, and her legs buckled under her. Prince Blake acted quickly, and caught her before she fell.

"It hurts." Miyo stammered.

The Prince opened her door, and carried her over to the bed closing the door behind him.

"Hold still." Blake stated as he carefully pulled Miyo's gown away from her wrappings. He examined the amount of blood seeping from around them and was relived to find that it was not as bad as he thought. "Miyo this is going to hurt quite a bit, but I need you to be strong and try not to move."

She nodded and just before he began she said, "I trust you."

Blake pulled carefully at the wrappings, and within two minutes Miyo's wound was fully exposed. The wound had begun to heal quite well as the skin around the wound was slightly red, and no longer discolored. The lacerations were still a little yellow in the center, but scar tissue had already begun to form. The Prince only had to say one spell to stop the bleeding as he held the bundle of bandages against Miyo's back, and another spell to ease her pain.

Miyo was itching to get back up, but the Prince stopped her and said, "You shouldn't get up yet. I need to put clean wrappings on the wound."

She stopped and relaxed her now tense body at the Prince's calm words. The Prince took out several rounds of bandages form the dresser next to them, and began to slowly wrap the bandages around Miyo. A minute later Miyo was sitting up on the bed looking at Prince Blake shivering.

"I'm sorry if it hurt more than I said it would." the Prince stated coolly.

Miyo shook her head and replied, "No, the pain wasn't that bad. It's just really cold in here."

"Well get to sleep. Once you're in bed you'll warm up pretty fast." he remarked.

He turned to leave, but Miyo called after him, "Wait. Will you stay with me?"

Blake turned to her, considered for several moments, and then returned to her side with a slightly red face.

Chase was sitting on his bed when Jase came into the room.

"Well," he questioned, "what did he say?"

Jase smiled at him and nodded, "He said we could go with them when they go out four days from now."

Chase replied with a smile and let himself fall back on his bed. All four of them had been trying for the entire day to get Prince Will to allow them to accompany Waz and Silver on their routine expedition to the outskirts of the ruined village.

"How did you get him to agree with it?" Chase asked.

"I just told him that we were getting a little tired of sitting in the castle all day." Jase replied in triumph.

Chase laughed at him and stated, "If that's all it took we should have said that this afternoon."

Jase laughed back and agreed. He then turned and left to tell Tisha and Tharin the news. Chase had figured that if they could some how venture out with Waz and Silver then maybe he, Tisha, and Tharin would have better luck with awakening their powers. If his plan proved successful then they would be one step closer to seeing Miyo.

Jase came back into the room and said, "They seemed glad. I'm sure they're anxious for their powers to awaken."

Chase considered his words carefully then asked, "What was it like?"

"What?" Jase replied taking a seat on his bed, "When my power awakened?" Chase sat up and nodded at him. "It's a little hard to explain." Jase began, "Before my power was kind of like a dull light, sort of like a star shimmering in the night sky I guess. It didn't feel like anything special even though I had never used it in our world."

Chase nodded again. He understood it perfectly. In fact they all did when they were training with their powers. It did not feel special at all to any of them. Almost like everyone from their land would be able to do it if they tried.

"But once my power awakened it felt like nothing I've ever experienced before." Jase continued, "I felt life flowing through me. It was almost like I could create life with my power."

Chase stared at him for the longest time before he replied, "I wonder if that's how all power feels when it awakens."

Jase shrugged and said, "I'm not sure. We'll just have to see." They were both silent for a few minutes before Jase continued suddenly, "You know, at the time I was thinking about going to protect Miyo. Didn't The Seer say something about my spirit being a protector?"

Thinking back Chase nodded and said, "Yeah, I think he said Dolum was the Protector Spirit."

At that moment the door to their room opened and Tisha and Tharin walked in.

"It's Bolum, not Dolum." Tisha stated taking a seat by Chase.

"Don't you two ever knock?" Jase asked with teasing eyes.

Chase then proceeded to tell them what Jase had told him.

"So if my theory holds true," Tisha said after several minutes of thought, "then we just need to express our feelings strong enough to match our Spirits'."

"So," Tharin began," You would need to feel free, I would need to be like a warrior, and Chase would need to be strong?"

"Something like that, though I think there's something more to it." Tisha replied.

Jase nudged Tharin and stated, "That's why she's the smart one."

And with that the entire room was full of laughter. They sat together and talked and laughed for hours until Jase suddenly stopped laughing.

"What's the matter?" Chase questioned with hard eyes.

Jase shook his head and replied quietly, "I don't know. Suddenly I feel like something is not right."

"Should we go talk to Namau?" Tisha asked a little frightened.

Jase considered her question for some time before he answered, "No, it's probably nothing."

Chase looked at him and stated, "Jase, you should know by now that everything in this world happens for a reason. It's not nothing."

Jase cast his eyes down to the light colored stones. He knew what Chase said was the truth.

"Okay," he stated, "let's go see The Seer."

Without a moment of hesitation all four of them walked out of the room. It took them three minutes to walk down to The Seer's room and knock on his door.

"Come." he called calmly from behind the door.

Tisha opened the door, and they walked in together. The Seer was sitting in his usual position at his table. Sitting in front of him was Miyo's black candle with the blue flame illuminating The Seer's face, along with Jase's white candle and green flame.

"What can I do for you?" he questioned with a hint of hostility in his voice.

'We're sorry to bother," Tisha started, "but Jase is feeling something weird."

Jase stepped forward and told The Seer what he was feeling. For some time The Seer was still, then without warning his eyes flew open to reveal his bright red eyes. The motion was so sudden that it made everyone standing in front of him jump in surprise.

"That is a sign from Miath, there is no doubt about that." he said in an excited voice, "Jase you are the Protector so it is clear why you are receiving her feeling."

All were taken back by the sheer joy in The Seer's voice. Up until this point he was always calm and cold.

It was Chase who had the courage enough to question, "What does the sign mean?"

At Chase's words The Seer calmed himself and replied with his eyes blazing, "It means something is going wrong. There is an outside force trying to disrupt the balance of this land. What it is or what it is after I cannot say. All we can do from this point is wait."

Thoughts of horror began running through Jase's mind as he asked, "Didn't you say that wasn't supposed to happen? We can't just sit here and do nothing. If it's coming for us then we have to prepare ourselves, or if it's going to where Miyo is then…"

Jase stopped short as The Seer brought a hand up and closed his eyes, "I understand how you must feel, but what we need to be concerned about is awakening the rest of the Spirits. If they all are not awakened then going out and fighting will only bring calamity to the others."

The Seer directed his statement at Jase, however to everyone's surprise instead of arguing with him and getting angry Jase nodded his head. It was unclear to Chase, Tisha, and Tharin whether or not Jase's calmness was due to his power or if his short time in Hethron had matured him, but The Seer could see that it was the later.

"You will be traveling with Silver and Waz to the village ruins as I understand it." The Seer began, "It will be a marvelous opportunity for the rest of your powers to awaken."

With that The Seer dismissed them, and they walked back to the main floor. None said anything more about Jase's premonition or anything close to the topic for the rest of the night. Their night was no different from any other. They talked with Prince Will, Silver, and Waz, they ate, and talked again. Once they finished Jase broke away from the others, but no one said anything, as it was clear he needed some time alone.

He walked ever so calmly to the sixth floor and down the hall to the Room of Mirrors. He opened the door slowly, and peered into the dimly lit room. After making sure that there was no one in the room he stepped in and closed the door behind him. The instant his feet touched the floor light illuminated the room. Jase cautiously walked to the center of the room gazing around at the reflections of himself as he did. He did not know why he had come up here, because he was already getting the urge to shatter every single mirror in the room.

Suddenly a wave of peacefulness washed over Jase, and he was calm. He sat in the center mirror with his legs crossed, and stared at his reflection straight across from him. He sat calmly like that without moving for several minutes before he saw his refection change. He saw his deep brown hair turn a golden blond, and his calm blue eyes turned an emerald green. He looked at the other reflections, but they all stayed the same. When he looked back the image was standing, and he was turning see through. His hair had grown in length, and he was holding an enormous mace.

Jase rose slowly to his feet and questioned the image before him, "Who are you?"

A dull green light spread from the image as he began walking towards Jase. He did not make a single sound as he moved. Jase's body hardened, and he took several steps back.

"What do you want?" he demanded, but still the image did not answer.

Jase looked on in horror as the image stepped out of the mirror, and continued his advance towards Jase.

"If that's the way you want it then fine." he said and took up a defensive position.

Without warning the phantom ran at Jase, and attacked him with the mace. Jase dodged the blow by mere inches, and the mace shattered two of the mirrors on the floor. Jase sent a bright green ball of energy at the phantom, and it struck with so much force it sent him flying across the room. He broke three mirrors on the wall, and two more as he crashed to the floor. This concerned Jase for Caitlin said that the mirrors in this room would never break.

He formed a larger ball and held it firmly in his grasp as he stated, "I don't want to fight you who ever you are. If you want me to leave here that's fine, I'll leave."

The phantom rose and smiled at Jase, but still he did not say a word to him. The ball in Jase's palm grew in intensity as the two stared each other down.

"Well done Jase Mathia." he said after several moments.

Jase's eyes grew a little wider, but he kept his calm and remained silent. The phantom swung his mace around, and rested it on his shoulder as he produced a bright green orb from his hand.

"This time though," he continued, "it is for real."

With that he shot his energy ball at Jase, and Jase shot his. They collided in a bright green flash, and the phantom followed up with a huge lunge brining his mace down to hit Jase in the head. Jase dropped and rolled out of the way, and followed with another energy ball. As the ball was coming to hit the phantom he swung his mace again and destroyed it. Jase ran to the other side of the room with the phantom running after him. He jumped and turned, throwing two energy balls from each of his hands. Only one hit the phantom, but it dealt damage to him as he cringed in pain.

Several mirrors on the wall and floor shattered from the blast, and even more broke as the phantom hit the ground with his mace. Jase stopped and turned around gathering all the energy he could around him. To both his and the phantom's surprise the few remaining reflections of Jase came out of their mirrors just as the phantom had done not five minutes ago.

All had energy balls aimed at the phantom as Jase spoke, "I don't want to do this. I don't know who or what you are, but I have no reason to be fighting you."

The phantom laughed at him and replied, "You are more foolish then I thought you were, Jase Mathia. The reason for fighting me is perfectly simple." The phantom stood and poised his mace for attack as he continued, "I am the enemy, and you are protecting yourself and others by fighting. If you do not finish it here and now I will continue to attack you, and you will loose everything."

Jase considered this for a few seconds, his eyes hardened, and just when he was about to release his energy he stopped. All of the images of himself disappeared, and could be seen in the mirrors once again.

"No," Jase said lowering his hands, "I'm not going to kill you just because you attacked me. If you come after me or my friends I will defeat you again, but I will not kill you just for that."

The phantom's eyes widened in surprise, and they stared at each other for a moment before the phantom laughed and stood up. It wasn't the harsh laugher Jase had heard before, but joyous.

"You are an odd one Jase Mathia, a true diamond in the rough." he said with eyes full of wonder. Jase still kept his guard up as he looked at the phantom with confused eyes. "Forgive me young one," he began, "I had to test you to see it your powers held true."

"Who are you?" Jase asked in a stern tone.

The phantom's intense green eyes stared holes through Jase as he replied, "My name is Bolum, and I am a Tear of Miath."

Jase could not speak. The disbelief and surprise was so great that he was at a loss for words.

When he did speak the spirit could sense concern, "You're the one…that's inside me? But why are you here, and why did you attack me?"

Bolum smiled and explained, "As I have said I had to test you. When you entered the room, and saw your reflection that was the moment I could appear before you. You should know by now that you are the Protector, and are charged with not only protecting yourself and your friends, but the people of this land as well. The path you chose in the end was an odd one, but you passed the test regardless. You would sacrifice yourself to protect those you love." Jase's blue eyes met Bolum's as he continued, "That is what is means to be a protector."

"So what happens now?" Jase asked.

Bolum bowed his head and replied simply, "I will be watching over you. I will be inside your soul doing everything in my power to protect and aid you. Since you passed my test you can summon me when ever you wish, and I will answer your call."

With that Bolum glowed deep green, and turned into a ball of energy. It calmly floated over to Jase, and was absorbed through his chest. Jase closed his eyes as he felt new power and strength flow through his every being. When he opened his eyes again he was sitting in the same position he had been before Bolum attacked him. None of the mirrors were broken or shattered; the room was untouched. Jase rose to his feet, and questioned what had just happened, but he knew in his soul that it had not been a dream or a figment of his imagination. Looking around all he saw was himself. There was nothing changing on any of the reflections.

As he was turning to leave he heard Bolum's voice in his mind, "Jase, along with my powers you have gained one of your own. You can make doppelgangers of yourself. All you have to do is focus your energy and clones can be made. I am unsure of how many you can make at one time, but you will not need a reflection of yourself."

Jase nodded and replied, "Thank you."

A new fire could be seen in his eyes. He knew what he had to do. He walked out of the Room of Mirrors, and down to Chase, Tisha, and Tharin's rooms. He told them everything that had happened. Jase's newfound confidence could clearly be seen in the others once he finished his tale.


	6. Chapter 14

**Chapter 14:**

Miyo's eyes slowly opened. She did not know how long she had been asleep. When she sat up her head began to ache, and there was a dull pain running all throughout her body. She put a hand to her head, and looked around the room to find that she was alone. Getting out of bed was a difficult task for her as the pain increased ever so slightly once she stood on her feet. Miyo paused for a minute before walking over to the dresser and opening it.

After going through several items she pulled out a beautiful purple shirt and a light gray pair of pants. The shirt dipped ever so slightly in the chest, and the pants looked like they would come down a few inches below Miyo's knees. She was dressed in seven minutes, and had begun to look for her shoes when a slight knock came at her door. Without waiting for an answer Abel came through the door.

"Oh, Miyo!" he said with astonishment, "You have finally awakened."

Miyo smiled at him and asked, "How long have I been asleep?"

"Four days." he stated, his eyes glued to hers. The smile on Miyo's face vanished as she slowly sat on her bed. Abel walked over to her bed, sat beside her and asked, "Are you alright?"

Miyo was silent for a moment before she questioned, "Four days?"

She could not say anything more then that for she was in utter shock. Miyo had been sleeping for an eternity, at least that is how she saw it.

"Would you like me to leave?" Abel asked her in a quiet tone.

Miyo shook her head and replied, "No, I'm dressed and I want to get out of this room for a while."

Abel nodded and asked as he retrieved her shoes, "Is there any place you would like to go?"

"Yes, I'm starving actually." she replied slipping her shoes on.

"It's a little past morning, but I'm sure we can find you something." he stated reaching his hand out.

Miyo regained her smile as she took Abel's hand, and he helped her to her feet. They walked out and began their way down to the main floor. Miyo had a little difficulty walking at first, but once they were down the stairs she had begun to walk normally. The dining room was empty when they entered with the exception of two servants clearing the table.

"Come," Abel stated, "I'll get you something to eat."

He let her to the kitchen, and she took a seat at the table. Abel set a bowl of blueberries in front of her, and went to get one left over egg and two large strips of ham from the oven.

"Prince Blake will want to know you have awakened. I will leave you to eat." he stated setting a glass of water and the steaming plate of food next to the blueberries.

Miyo nodded and thanked him as she took two blueberries from the bowl. After he left Miyo began eating her food. In less than five minutes she had eaten half of the blueberries and cleared her entire plate. She got to her feet to wash her dishes, and to get herself another glass of water when the door flew open. Turing Miyo saw Prince Blake. His body was very calm, but his blue eyes were full of fire.

"I'm glad to see that you are up and about princess." he said calmly.

Miyo could not understand the feeling of distrust surging through her, but she replied with a smile. A forced smile appeared on Blake's face in reply to Miyo's. She could not understand it. She never felt such coldness emanating from the Prince before. He began walking towards her, and the feeling grew in intensity. Miyo had actually begun to fear Prince Blake as she watched him moving closer and closer to her. When he was an arm's length away from her he stopped, and stared at her. She noticed that his eyes had turned crimson, and a black aura was gathering around him.

"What are you doing?" Miyo asked in a small voice.

The Prince just stared at her without saying a word. Suddenly he brought his hand up and Miyo saw, to her horror, that he had formed a bright red ball of energy. She dodged just before the Prince launched the ball at her. A fierce pain shot through Miyo's back as she rolled out of the way, and back to her feet.

Flinching Miyo yelled at Blake, "What are you doing?"

Again he did not answer her, and shot another energy ball at her. Anger rose in Miyo as she stood and shot a ball of her own. The two collided in the air, and a harsh red light illuminated the kitchen.

"Why?!" Miyo screamed at him.

She did not understand. The person she had loved and admired through story was trying to kill her. He had never been this hostile with her before. Not even the first day she came to the castle. Miyo's anger turned into hate and rage as she fired another ball of energy at the Prince. Blake's hand shot up as he caught the ball, and launched it back at Miyo. Shock kept her from dodging, and before she knew what had happened she slammed into one of the cabinets.

Her breath came in gasps as she got to her feet, and glared at Prince Blake. Miyo could feel wetness on the back of her shirt, and could imagine what the crimson coloring was doing to the beautiful purple cloth. Gritting her teeth she shot another ball of energy, and followed it with a second as she charged after them. Now Miyo's eyes were as red as the Prince's.

The Prince jumped out of the way of Miyo's assault, and landed gently on top of the table. Miyo skidded to a stop, turned, and released another ball of energy at the Prince. This time he did not have time to dodge, and the ball slammed into his chest with furious power. The force sent him flying off the table, and he hit the side of one of the sinks. Miyo heard her plates smash to the floor as the Prince dropped to join them. Miyo stood perfectly still waiting for Prince Blake to rise, but he never did.

She waited a full minute before walking over to him. Despite her anger towards him she could feel tears forming in her eyes. Miyo bent down and turned Blake over. His eyes were closed, but he was still breathing. Just as Miyo sighed in relief his eyes shot open, and he pushed Miyo back with a blast of dark energy. She hit the ground harder than he had, and the air rushed out of her lungs. Prince Blake stood up, and began to laugh as he walked over to the fallen Miyo. She coughed, and with it blood erupted from her mouth.

"Miyo…my princess…" the Prince started, "my dear sweet Miyo…"

Prince Blake brought his hand up to reveal that he was holding a dagger. The blade was pure silver, and the handle was stone decorated in red and blue gems. Miyo's eyes grew wide as the Prince knelt beside her, and brought the blade up higher.

"Miyo…" he said again, his eyes glowing a bloody shade of red.

Miyo could not reply, she could not move, she could not do anything to prevent the Prince's actions. Without another word Blake brought the dagger down over Miyo's chest with enormous force.

At the last second Miyo's voice came back to her as she screamed, "No!"

Jase was sitting on the castle steps when Silver, Waz, Chase, Tisha, and Tharin walked out of the enormous wooden doors to the castle. He rose, and turned to them. It was finally time to leave the castle grounds. Each had been waiting restlessly for the past three days to exit the grounds, and take a look at the strange land.

"Ready?" Waz asked with a smile already knowing the answer.

Each smiled in turn, and nodded to him. Waz nodded in reply, and they heading for the gate.

"Your horses are waiting for you outside the gate." Braken called from the top of the gate.

"Thank you Braken." Silver called back to him.

They only had to stand by the gate for a second before it swung open. With Waz leading the way they walked out in silence as the gate closed behind them. A few feet ahead of them stood six magnificent horses. Two were pure white, and the rest were light gray with white hair. All six had clear blue eyes.

"They're beautiful." Tisha said with wonder as she placed a hand on one of the gray horses.

Silver and Waz hoisted themselves on the two white horses as Silver asked, "Do all of you know how to ride?"

"Yeah," Chase stated, "all of do except for Tharin. I don't think he's seen a horse before."

A burst of laughter came from everyone when Tharin punched Chase lightly on the shoulder and replied, "Shut up."

Soon everyone was on horseback, and Silver and Waz were facing them.

"Now listen to me carefully," Waz began, "outside the castle walls is a much different world. There is a constant risk of being attacked by any number of monsters so I want each of you to be on guard."

They kept serious faces while Waz spoke, and they nodded to show that they understood him.

Waz nodded back at them and stated, "Keep close to us and do not worry, we will protect each of you."

With that they were off down the mountain. Tharin, Jase, Tisha, and Chase's horses each had saddles and bridles, but Waz and Silver were riding bareback. They ran at full speed down the mountain, and the horses were surprisingly running faster when they made it to flat ground. The land before they got to the ruined village was beautiful in color with large areas of green and bright shimmers of red. However a few feet from the village the green stopped abruptly, and everything on the land was a dull brown. They slowed their pace and walked the horses calmly into the village ruins.

"Be weary," Silver said in a hushed voice, "we have gotten several reports from our scouts that demons were roaming the village grounds."

They walked slowly through the village, each gazing around them in preparation for an attack.

"Waz," Tisha said quietly, "what happened here?"

Waz breathed deep and was silent for a moment before answering her, "At one time this village was very prosperous. The land was rich and the villagers were very good people, but it was caught in the crossfire of Prince Will and Prince Blake. They both contributed to the downfall of the village, but it was Prince Will who dealt the death blow."

At the final remark Tisha stopped her horse, making the others stop and look back at her.

Her eyes were wide as she questioned, "What, Prince Will is the reason this village is in ruins?"

Chase, Tharin, and Jase were also wondering the same thing. Both Waz and Silver looked down. It was true that their prince had been the cause of this village's destruction.

"At the time he was battling Prince Blake." Silver said, "They were fighting so fiercely that for an instant Prince Will lost control of himself. In that instant he generated and released an enormous ball of white light. It was so powerful that it destroyed the village and the villagers the second it hit. Prince Blake escaped without harm, but Prince Will was so devastated by what he had done that he vowed to never fight his brother near anyone ever again."

"That is also why our castle is so close to the village ruins. So Prince Will shall never forget what harm his powers can do." Waz finished.

They were silent for some time, and had just begun walking again when an enormous shadow appeared on the ground around them. They all shot their heads up to see the source of the shadow.

"Move!" Waz shouted and they all ran their horses several feet out of the shadow.

Seconds after they were clear of the shadow a huge creature crashed to the ground. It had a large golden body that looked like a lion, and it's legs, wings, and head, looked like they belonged to an eagle.

"What is that?" Tharin said in shock.

Waz took a few more steps back on his horse and answered, "It's a Kirni. They are fierce creatures that live around the Northern parts of Hethron. It's not uncommon to find one near the ruins."

Each shared a look of uncertainty before Silver stated, "Kirni's are very dangerous and powerful. If it's looking for a fight or food things will prove troublesome for us."

The Kirni's eyes glared at the group as its beak opened to reveal a very impressive set of enormous sharp fangs. In a single swift movement Waz and Silver dismounted and drew their swords without a sound and stood ready for assault.

"Chase, Tharin, Tisha, get behind us." Waz commanded, his eyes never leaving the Kirni's.

They slowly walked their horses behind Waz, Silver, and Jase.

They dismounted as Tisha questioned, "Shouldn't Jase came back too?"

"His power is awake, and we will need all the help we can get with this one." Waz replied hardening his stance.

They stood silently for one minute staring the Kirni down. Then with a roar and a mighty flap of its wings the Kirni was airborne once more. It launched itself at Waz and Silver with its huge fangs posed for a deathblow. Waz jumped to meet the Kirni head on, and brought his sword down over its head. Upon seeing this move the monster hit Waz away with an enormous claw.

"Waz!" Silver called as he fell to the ground.

The Kirni landed harshly by Waz as he struggled to get back to his feet. Waz backed away several paces while dripping blood from a large wound on his side.

The Kirni brought its claw up for another strike, but stopped as Silver yelled, "Get away from him!"

Silver charged at the Kirni, and slashed at its side. Silver's blade cut at the Kirni's flesh, and it roared in anger. Silver dodged the Kirni's attacks, but fell victim to its fourth attempt and he fell back on Waz. The blood of the Kirni was mixing with Waz and Silver's, but was obvious that the two warriors were hurt more than the monster. Again the Kirni opened its beak and walked slowly towards Waz and Silver. Suddenly a bright green orb slammed against the Kirni's side. It dropped to the ground with a harsh crash. Jase was standing out further then he had been. His bright blue eyes now emerald, and his body tense.

"Get away from my friends." he demanded coldly.

The Kirni rose and turned so that it was fully facing Jase Its eyes glared into Jase's.

"Jase," Silver called, "be careful!"

Chase, Tharin, and Tisha backed away with their eyes stricken with fear. Jase on the other hand stood perfectly still with no hint of fear in his eyes. Without a word Jase shot another energy ball right at the Kirni's face. Seeing it coming the Kirni launched itself into the air, and easily dodged the attack.

"Jase!" Tisha screamed as the monster flew toward Jase with its jaws ready to snap around him.

"Stay there!" Jase called over his shoulder as he ran to meet the Kirni.

"No Jase! Don't take it head on without a weapon!" Waz shouted trying in vain to get to his feet.

Jase either did not hear him, or did not care, because he jumped to meet the Kirni with an enormous energy sphere. Jase blasted it with furious power, and sent it once again crashing to the ground. The Kirni did not move as Jase landed softly by its side, and summoned another ball of energy to prepare for its next move. To everyone's surprise the Kirni did not move an inch, and after several moments Jase lowered his attack.

"It's too easy." Jase whispered to himself turning ever so slightly away from the Kirni.

"Be weary Jase," Bolum's voice echoed through his head, "the demon is not defeated just yet."

Jase nodded slowly keeping his guard up.

"Jase," Tisha called walking a few steps toward him, "is it…?"

Jase whipped around to face her and stated, "Stay back Tisha, it's not safe."

With Jase's sudden movement the Kirni sprang into action. It rose, and knocked Jase down in one swift motion of its claw, pinning him under its talons.

"Jase!" Tisha screamed and tried to run to him, but Chase caught her arm.

"No Tisha! It'll kill you!" he said wit despair in his voice.

The Kirni put pressure on Jase's abdomen, and made him cry out in pain. Tears began to well up in Tisha's eyes as she watched helplessly from several feet away. She sent a green energy ball at the Kirni, but it did very little damage to it and it did not take its eyes off of Jase. Waz and Silver charged at it, but the monster flung them away with a swipe of its mighty tail. At the sight of Waz and Silver flying through the air Tisha sank to the ground, and turned away. Just as the Kirni was opening its beak Tharin screamed with rage, and charged at the monster.

"Tharin!" Tisha yelled after him.

Tharin did not stop for his sister, or anyone else who called his name. His blue eyes turned more vibrant with each of his steps. The Kirni's tail whipped Tharin across his chest, but he caught it and hung strong to it to prevent being sent thrown. The Kirni brought its tail back creating deep wounds in Tharin's palms. Tharin was caught off guard by its massive claw swinging at him, and he fell to the ground.

"Tharin, get out of there!" Chase yelled at him.

Tharin was not the one to worry about as the Kirni turned its attention back to Jase. It brought its head up and opened its beak once again aiming at Jase's throat.

"Jase!" Silver and Waz shouted in unison.

Suddenly a bright blue light illuminated from Tharin, and he sat up with his eyes glaring at the Kirni. The Kirni, not seeing Tharin, lunged at Jase with intense speed. Tharin in response got to his feet, and ran at the Kirni with faster speed.


	7. Chapter 15

**Chapter 15:**

Miyo shot up in bed with a scream, and sweat pouring down her face.

Her breath came in short gasps as she whispered to herself, "It was only a dream but it seemed so real."

She tried her best to ease her breathing to no avail as she closed her eyes. Miyo sat in silence for a moment before slowly opening her eyes. Her hands were shaking as she removed herself from under the covers, and stood on the cold stone floor. Putting a hand to her head she walked slowly to the large mirror, and looked at her reflection. To Miyo she did not look any different, but she felt different. There was as unmistakable fear running through her. A fear so terrifying that it shook her to the core of her being.

"I must be loosing my mind." she said to her reflection.

A knock came at her door that made her jump.

Her voice did not quiver like her body did when she answered, "Come in."

Miyo expected to see Abel walk through the door or even Prince Blake, but instead the cloaked man she had seen the first day walked in calmly.

"Oh, it's you." Miyo said nervously.

She had not seen him since the incident in the courtyard her first day in this land, and his sudden appearance frightened her a little. The man did not talk at first. He just gazed around the room for a while taking everything in.

When the man did answer he talked calmly and did not look at her, "Forgive me, my princess, for not talking with you sooner."

A sigh escaped from Miyo before she could silence it.

The man turned to her and she apologized, "I'm sorry. Everyone seems to be calling me princess lately."

Miyo could not see his face, but she could see his lips as they drew into a slim smile. Strands of his black hair fell out from the corner of his hood.

"To me you are a true princess." he said, as his smile grew wider.

"I don't understand," Miyo began as she leaned against the wall, "I'm not from this land and I don't look like a princess."

"What makes you think that you do not look like a princess?" he asked.

Miyo smiled at him and replied, "Princesses are supposed to be pretty, and I most certainly am not."

Miyo could not see his body tense when she smiled at him, but she could see his smile vanish when she spoke her words.

He took several steps closer to her and stated, "I think you are very beautiful my dear."

Miyo blushed slightly which made the man's body rigid, and his eyes gleamed. He was wining her over with every word and motion he made.

"So," she began, "what brings you up here?"

The question caught him off guard, but he pulled himself together to answer her, "I wanted to see how you were. You sustained serious injuries in the battle, and I wanted to make sure you were healing properly."

"Oh," Miyo stated in surprise, "thank you. I'm feeling much better."

The man nodded, and regained his smile. They were silent for a moment. Miyo was gazing out the window, and the man was gazing at her.

"Would you let me see the wound? Just to be sure that it is healing the way it should." he asked in anticipation.

Miyo regarded this for a moment. She hardly knew this man, but he only wanted to make sure she was on the road to recovery.

"Well I'm not sure. It hurts a little bit but I don't want to be a burden to you." she replied a little nervously.

The man held out his hand and stated, "Trust me my dear, you could never be a burden to me."

Miyo smiled at him and took his hand lightly. He walked her over to the bed, and sat beside her.

"I hope this doesn't seem forward to you." he stated as he tried to keep his eyes on hers.

Miyo shook her head and replied, "No, it's fine."

She turned and rested herself on her stomach facing the wall. Her heart was still beating fast from her dream. The man was till for a minute watching Miyo's back rise and fall with each breath. His own breath came fast to him. Taking a deep breath the man reached for Miyo's back, and pulled up her gown. He pulled at it very slowly, being careful not to hurt her but also so that he could take in each moment he saw more of her skin.

"I am sorry my dear, but can you life yourself up a little? I won't be able to fully see your wound." he said as calmly as his voice would allow.

"Sure." Miyo replied.

Grabbing the top blanket to cover herself she put her arms under her for support, and lifted off the bed. He worked fast and lifted her gown fully away from her. Now Miyo's heart was beating fast not only because of her dream, but also for the odd feeling of danger she felt from the cloaked man. She was about to ask him if taking his hood off would help, but forced her mouth to remain closed.

"This might hurt a little. I need to remove your wrappings." the man said.

Miyo nodded, and waited for the pain she knew that would soon come. She gritted her teeth to stop herself from crying out once her wrappings were off. The man's face hardened as he looked at the wound. The poison was making a come back.

He did not want to frighten Miyo, and after considering the outcome he told her, "It's almost completely healed now. I'm going to say a spell so it will heal all the way."

He was swift with his spell, and he made sure it eliminated the poison, and completely healed the wound.

He brushed his hand down the length of her back and remarked, "There, it's all healed up. It didn't even leave a scar."

"Really? That's amazing!" Miyo said with sheer joy.

Her happiness made him smile softly. He had made her happy, and he alone. Miyo sat up brining the blanket with her. Her eyes were shining with happiness. Without thinking she got up, and walked over to the mirror. Turning she looked at her back making sure not to reveal anything to the cloaked man. The man, however, did not need to see anything to make his imagination run wild with thoughts. The want he had been feeling ever since he set eyes on Miyo Richards was slowly turning into a need.

Miyo turned her attention to the man and beamed at him, "Thank you so much. There isn't even the slightest twinge of pain."

Her green eyes were melting him. He wanted to reveal himself to her. He had to. He knew what her reaction would be once she saw his face, but he did not care. He needed to see her fully with his eyes.

"It was no problem at all," he said with a forced smile, "I'm glad to see you so happy."

Miyo nodded at him and walked back to the bed.

"Well I should get dressed." she said with a smile of her own.

"Of course," he said standing up, "you should get something to eat as well to gain your strength back."

"Yes," she said, "that's where I'm going."

He gave her a nod of approval, and turned to leave, but stopped at Miyo's words.

"Wait, I don't even know your name and you've been so kind to me."

The man went cold. It was time for the moment he had been both dreading and anticipating.

"My dear Miyo," he began quietly, "you already know my name."

"What?" she questioned.

The man turned slowly. He did not want to do this to her, but he needed to.

"You don't recognize my voice, not even a little?" he asked walking slowly toward her, "But then how could you? You never heard my voice the way I heard yours, and you've never seen me the way I see you."

As the man drew nearer to Miyo she slowly dropped down to the bed. She was sitting when the man was standing over her. His voice did sound familiar, but she could not place it. It was a kind voice, but it was also cold and full of desire. The man placed a hand on her shoulder, and to her dismay it felt like it was on fire.

"What are you…" Miyo began, but she could not force the words out of her mouth.

She knew now how he saw her, and cursed herself for not seeing it sooner. The hand on her shoulder hardened, and tried to force her back but she caught herself.

"Stop." she said sternly.

"Miyo." he whispered.

So he knew her name, but she still did not know who he was. He brought his left leg up beside her. The movement caused her to loose concentration, and she was forced onto the bed. As Miyo clung to the blanket around her tightly she thought her heart was going to burst from her chest.

"Miyo," he whispered again, "don't be afraid of me."

"That's kind of hard to do." she said swallowing hard.

She tried to see his face, but his black hair shielded himself from her. She moved a hand, but he caught it and pinned it to the bed before she could throw back his hood.

"No," he said to her, "don't see me yet. I couldn't take it."

Miyo was about to ask what he meant, but before she could open her mouth he bent down and kissed her. She was overwhelmed with warmth as he pushed his lips against hers. The man brought his other leg up on the bed, and placed it against Miyo's side. His free hand moved to the blanket covering her, and started to inch it down. With her free hand she tried to move his hood again, but his hand caught it and pinned it down with the other one before she got close.

Miyo did not know what to do. The pressure on her body was too great to move, and her hands her stuck. She could feel his tongue moving against her lips, but she did not let it in to explore her mouth. The man loosened his grip on her wrists slightly, and that's all Miyo needed to move her hands out from his, and throw his hood back. This time she was too fast for him. The man brought his head up, and their eyes locked. Miyo's pure green eyes were staring into the man's bright hazel eyes. Hers were wide with horror, and his were full of hurt.

"Miyo" he said silently.

Miyo could not speak, and her body was frozen with disbelief. She was looking at the face of her science teacher Mr. Simonson.

"Miyo, I warned you not to look at me." He said pulling away from her.

"What are you doing here?" Miyo managed to say in a quiet whisper.

Simonson stood, looked down at her, and said simply, "This is my home. I went to your world to bring you here."

Miyo sat up pulling the blanket around her tightly and demanded, "Why? What am I to you?"

"All in good time my dear." he replied as he reached into his pocket withdrawing the vile containing the purple elixir.

Before Miyo could react he dropped the vile on the stone floor, and a light purple cloud rose into the air, and gathered around Miyo's head.


End file.
